January
International Holocaust Remembrance Day: January 27th
- Focus on LGBTQ victims of the holocaust
- Watch Paragraph 175, A documentary about the lives of several gay men and a lesbian who were persecuted by the Nazis.
- Teach a lesson for either high school age, or adult learning session about the legacy of Paragraph 175 with the Facing History,Facing Ourselves lesson plan.
- Learn about Gad Beck, a gay Jewish youth during the holocaust who was involved in the Nazi Resistance in Berlin.
- Teach about Claude Cahun, genderqueer artist and activist who worked against Nazi propaganda in Jersey and watch a video of their work from ArtFundUK
February
Black History Month
- Highlight Trans Women of Color who were integral to the start of the LGBTQ+ rights movement and follow artists and activists on social media platforms.
- Marsha P. Johnson
- Marsha P. Johnson was black trans woman who was active in New York City in the 60s through the 80s. She was present at the Stonewall Riots, and the first NYC Pride Parade. She helped to start the first trans activist group S.T.A.R, which stood for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.
- Watch Happy Birthday Marsha, an art film by Tourmaline. You can read about the film here.
- This is another good documentary about Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Riots
- Sylvia Rivera
- Sylvia Rivera was a Latina trans woman who was also active at the same time as Marsha P. Johnson. Sylvia was also present at Stonewall and was the other founding member of S.T.A.R . Throughout her life she was an outspoken activist for people experiencing homelessness, people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as trans people.
- Watch this documentary about Sylvia Rivera.
- Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
- Host a screening and discussion of the 2016 film Moonlight and use this curriculum guide by the It Gets Better Project
March
Purim
National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week
- Celebrated during the last week of March, this week promotes the health and wellness of the LGBTQ+ community.
March 31st – Trans Day of Visibility
- This holiday was created by Transgender Activist Rachel Crandall in 2009 to celebrate transgender people and to raise awareness of discrimination they face.
- Host a community screening of a film from our LGBTQ Film Guide featuring trans characters and stories
- Showcase trans creators, writers, artists, and thinkers that impacted your field, community, city, or province
- Partner with a local organization that serves the LGBTQ community and ask what your organization/shul/community can do to uplift their work
April
Passover
April 2nd – Sexual Assault Awareness Day
- Highlight local and national LGBTQ+ resources for survivors of assault
- Put up inclusive stickers and pamphlets about assault in your city/state/region
April 12th – Day of Silence
- Day of Silence was started by GLSEN and is a student-led national event where folks take a vow of silence to highlight the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ+ people at school
April 26th – Lesbian Visibility Day
- This day celebrates lesbian role models, culture and diversity within the lesbian community. This day also can be used to raise awareness of the issues that lesbians face within multiple institutions (i.e. education, healthcare, workplace, etc).
- Highlight famous Jewish Lesbians
May
Shavuot
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia – May 17th
- International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ people worldwide
- Learn about LGBTQ rights and safety worldwide
- Join or support an IDAHOT event.
Harvey Milk Day – May 22nd
Mental Health Month
June
Pride month!
- Keshet’s Pride Resources!
- Host a sign-making and Pride-themed dance party for young families
- March with your organization or synagogue in your local pride parade!
- Host a Pride theme brunch with LGBTQ+ Jewish learning
- Highlight the work your organization has done around LGBTQ inclusion
- Develop a social media campaign asking community members to share photos celebrating Pride in their own way
Pulse Night of Remembrance – June 12th
- In the early hours of June 12th, 2016 a gunman ended the lives of 49 victims and injured dozens of others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Pulse was a local LGBTQ nightclub and June 12th was their monthly Latinx Night. This was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
- Remember the 49 people who lost their lives on June 12, 2016
- Say the victims’ names during Shabbat services Kaddish
July/August
Tu B’Av
- Throw a Loving Day Celebration honoring all types of love and partnership in your community
- Watch the documentary Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement that follows the interfaith lesbian partnership that lead to the successful court case that made same-gender marriage legal on the federal level in 2013
September
Bisexuality Day – September 23rd
- Celebrate bisexual Jews throughout history!
- Brenda Howard
- Uplift the struggles and challenges that bisexual individuals face in society
Suicide Prevention Week/Month
October
LGBTQ History Month
- Research and tell the stories of important LGBTQ Jewish ancestors in your town, city, state, province or community
- Visit the online collections of the GLBT Historical Society
- Uplift Historical Jewish Icons
- Check out this article from Alma!
Bullying Prevention Month
- Host programs in Jewish Day Schools and Religious schools about bullying prevention
National Coming Out Day – October 11th
International Pronoun Day – October 16th
- Make pronoun buttons!
- Add your pronouns to your email signature or LinkedIn profile
- Start to share pronouns at the beginning of meetings
- Host a community education program on what pronouns are and why they’re important
November
Nov 13th – 19th – Trans Awareness Week
Nov. 20th -Trans Day of Remembrance
December
December 1st – World AIDS day
- Provide free HIV testing at your organization or shul
- Watch a film that discusses the experiences of folks affected by HIV/AIDS, a few are listed below:
- Learn about CBST’s Talk to me about HIV program
December 10th Human Rights Day
- Hold learning or invite a speaker about global LGBTQ rights and national rights
- Get involved with Keshet’s work for LGBTQ+ rights
