Mountain Lake PBS honors and celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride this June and all year!
Pride is the celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and the LGBTQ+ rights movement. It is dedicated to the self-affirmation, equality, and visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. Many communities host parades, festivals, and rallies in June to mark the occasion.
Pride month is a time to commemorate the fight for equal rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. It offers an opportunity to have open discussions with our children—however they identify—about the experiences and lives of LGBTQ+ individuals today and yesterday. By reflecting on watershed moments like the 1969 New York City Stonewall Riots and learning about generations of LGBTQ+ leaders and advocates, we can give our children a better understanding of how far we’ve come and how much further we need to go.
Check out the resources below to learn more about the history of Pride and LGBTQ+ rights, how to be an ally and advocate, and what it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ community today.
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Learn About LGBTQ+ History: Then & Now
How Far Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling Go to Protect LGBTQ Rights? | PBS NewsHour
Grades 6-12
The Supreme Court announced a milestone decision in 2020, ruling that job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity is illegal. What is the significance of this decision for LGBTQ rights, even beyond the realm of employment? Judy Woodruff talks to the Human Rights Campaign’s Alphonso David and the ACLU’s Chase Strangio, one of the lawyers who worked on the case.
The Pursuit: 50 Years in the Fight for LGBT Rights
Grades 9-12
The Pursuit is a reflection on 50 years in the fight for LGBT rights. Contrasting stories from LGBT experiences past and present, a complex and vibrant picture emerges that demonstrates both how far the community has come and how far there is left to go.
The LGBTQ Movement and Stonewall Riots
Grades 9-12
In this video, learn about the LGBTQ Movement, the Stonewall uprising and its enduring impact. Using video, discussion questions, and classroom activities, students can explore LGBTQ history, examine cause and effect, and create an argument-based claim.
Lavender Scare
Grades 9-12
Learn about the Lavender Scare and its lasting impact on the LGBTQ community in this video from First Person: Classroom. Utilizing video, discussion questions, vocabulary terms, teaching tips, and primary source documents, students will analyze the impact presidential orders have had on the LGBTQ community over the past half century.
History of The Word Gay | Origin of Everything
Grades 9-12
The word “gay” has a long history in the English language, but why did “gay” stop meaning “happy” and start referring to “same sex relationships”? Watch this episode of Origin of Everything to find out.
LGBTQ+ Leaders & Visionaries
Martin Wong
Grades 6-12
Explore the life, work and legacy of Martin Wong, an openly gay Chinese American visual artist. Synonymous with the Lower East Side, he was equally at home with Nuyorican poets, graffiti artists, social non-conformists, and political activists. Through video, discussion questions, primary sources, and paintings, students gain a thorough understanding of who Wong was as a painter, a supporter of the arts, and as a chronicler of the Lower East Side in the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma Rainey
Grades 9-12
Throughout her 30-year career, Ma Rainey sang about the hardship of poor Black people and of Black women in particular, portraying herself and the personas she created as powerful heroes of their own stories. Rainey was a uniquely talented performer and a successful entertainer whose legacy transformed American music. Using video, teaching tips, discussion questions, and an independent student activity, students explore the life and legacy of the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey.
Bayard Rustin
Grades 9-12
Students explore the life and achievements of Bayard Rustin—the legendary civil rights leader, peaceful organizer and openly gay human rights activist. Using video from First Person: Classroom and supporting educational materials, students examine primary source documents to learn about Rustin in his own words.
A Personal Journey | Oliver Sacks: His Own Life
Grades 9-12
This video from American Masters’ Oliver Sacks: His Own Life highlights Oliver Sack’s personal journey from coming out at age 18 to finally finding true love in his late 70s. Sacks, a legendary neurologist and storyteller known for his literary works Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, was a fearless explorer of unknown cognitive worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity.
Marsha P. Johnson
Grades 9-12
In this video, learn about trans activist Marsha P. Johnson and her impact on the LGBTQ Movement. Utilizing video, discussion questions, teaching tips, and examination of important terms to know, your students will gain a thorough understanding of Johnson’s goals as an activist and organizer—and her lasting impact on the LGBTQ movement. Then students apply what they’ve learned from Johnson’s work and develop a platform around an issue that matters to them in an effort to organize their local community.
Allyship & Advocacy Resources
Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators | PBS LearningMedia
Grades 6-12
Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators offers a series of digital media resources to help teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and other educators understand and effectively address the complex and difficult issues faced by LGBTQ students. All video content is scaffolded by a suite of materials (informational text, conversation guides, discussion questions, and teaching tips) to facilitate their use in either classroom or professional development settings. When used in tandem, the videos and accompanying educational resources will help promote understanding, awareness, and self-esteem.
Talking to Your Child About Identity: A Resource for Parents – Planned Parenthood
Grades PreK-12
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and gender nonconforming people are a part of every community and beloved members of many families. Learn how to discuss sexual orientations and gender identities with your kid, and how to support them if they’re LGBTQ. Find resources and tips for talking to children of all ages.
Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance
A safe space and environment for LGBTQI-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Queer/Non-Conforming, Intersex youth, adults, family members & allies. Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance hosts peer support groups, book readings, the annual Adirondack North Country – Plattsburgh Pride parade, and distributes resources and tools to support the LGBTQ+ community.
The Trevor Project
Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award winning short film Trevor, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.
Support for LGBTQI Individuals – NAMI
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersexed (LGBTQI*) community represents a diverse range of identities and expressions of gender and sexual orientation. While belonging to the LGBTQI community can be a source of strength, it also brings unique challenges. For those who identify as LGBTQI, it’s important to recognize how your experience of sexual orientation and gender identity relates to your mental health. Find steps towards seeking LGBTQI-competent care, and a list of resources for educational and support topics on a range of LGBTQ+ topics.
Programs for LGBTQ+ Pride Month
Check out the Mountain Lake PBS Watch & Wonder block, weekdays from 1-3pm! Join us in June for Pride Month as we learn about LGBTQ+ history and explore the struggles and joys of LGBTQ+ life in communities across America.
Thursday, June 29
1 PM: The Lodge: LGBTQ+ Seniors
Fountaingrove Lodge in Santa Rosa, California, is the nation’s first state-licensed continuing care retirement community (CCRC) that’s specifically for LGBTQ+ seniors and their allies. The Lodge looks inside this unique experiment in gay/straight living to show us the daily lives, hopes, and fears of people in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. What you discover will surprise you.
2 PM: Out in Rural America
Out in Rural America is a film that explores the struggles and joys of being lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and genderqueer in rural America. Following five stories from the LGBTQ+ community over six years, the film explores the issues of self-doubt, discrimination, acceptance, and small-town and Midwestern LGBTQ+ life from a cultural, social, familial, and religious perspective.