A new law passed on July 15 mandates
that all history textbooks in the state of California include
information about the contributions and struggles of LGBT people. The
legislation faced stiff opposition from right-wing bigots, who
arrogantly argued that lessons on LGBT history are a waste of
students’ time.
Although Governor Jerry Brown and other
politicians supported the bill, the real credit for this victory goes
to the LGBT
movement. The legally mandated inclusion of LGBT history is the
result of tireless struggle by thousands of activists, especially
high school students organized in Gay Straight Alliance clubs.
History, the collective memory of
society, is inherently political. The notion that the events of the
past were simply the result of the actions of great (white, straight,
male) individuals, the false interpretation favored by the capitalist
class, strengthens the oppressive status quo. Promoting the history
of oppressed groups and their heroic resistance underscores the truth
that all progress is the result of struggle.
