Reclaiming Queer History: How Pride Honors the Past and Fights for the Future

Queer History is Sacred

Each June, cities around the world are adorned with rainbow flags, echoing decades of progress and protest. But in the current political climate, marked by mounting legislative attacks against LGBTQ+ rights, Pride carries a deeper significance. While celebration remains central, it is increasingly coupled with reflection, activism, and remembrance.

This movement toward historical awareness is part of a growing effort to reclaim the stories too often left out of dominant narratives. Keith Stern, author of Queers in History, has spent more than three decades chronicling queer lives that shaped culture, politics, science, and art, long before LGBTQ+ identities were widely acknowledged. What began as a personal curiosity in the 1990s—stored on floppy disks and distributed on pink paper at a West Hollywood bookstore—has become a two-volume, global compendium. “There’s probably more need for it today than ever,” Keith notes, “because of the fact that almost a war has been declared on people who are different in any way.”

Reclaiming a Living Legacy

Queer history isn’t confined to archives; it is a dynamic, living record of courage, contribution, and survival. In Queers in History, Keith’s work spans centuries and continents, documenting figures often excluded from traditional historical accounts. The project has evolved to reflect a broader, more inclusive understanding of LGBTQ+ identity, expanding from an initial focus on gay men to encompass lesbians, bisexuals, transgender individuals, and others whose identities have historically been ignored or erased.

Through these stories, Keith challenges the idea that queerness is a recent development or a modern “trend.” “Anybody who thinks that this is something new or something strange needs to learn a little bit more about what was really going on back then,” he says. Whether artists, politicians, scientists, or cultural icons, these individuals weren’t anomalies, but part of the fabric of society, even if their contributions were downplayed or forgotten.

Restoring Trans Voices in Queer History

One of the most urgent battles in today’s culture war is the erasure of transgender identities, not just from policy, but from public memory. In 2025, the National Park Service removed references to transgender people from its web pages commemorating the Stonewall uprising, effectively stripping key figures from one of the LGBTQ+ movement’s most defining moments.

Keith’s updated work seeks to restore those lost voices. The latest edition of Queers in History features expanded entries on trans individuals whose lives were previously overlooked. Drawing on historical records, he found that in many cases, trans people were accepted and even respected for their accomplishments, which challenges modern misconceptions. Their inclusion affirms what queer communities have always known: trans lives have always mattered, and their stories are inseparable from the broader LGBTQ+ struggle.

When Remembering Becomes Resistance

Preserving queer history is no longer just a matter of documentation; it’s an act of defiance. As anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric intensifies and laws threaten to strip away visibility and rights, the work of historians and archivists has taken on a new urgency. History is not neutral; it’s shaped by who gets remembered and who gets erased.

Keith reflects on this reality with clarity and frustration. “That hope has been dashed,” he says, referencing his earlier belief that Queers in History might one day become unnecessary. “My book is not unnecessary... The work goes on.” In a time when government policies attempt to whitewash LGBTQ+ contributions from textbooks, museums, and historical records, truth-telling becomes a form of protest.

Teaching Pride Through the Past

For younger generations just beginning to understand their identities, queer history offers more than a lesson; it offers a lifeline. These stories provide context, community, and confidence, especially in a world where being different can still feel dangerous. Keith underscores the importance of this visibility: “I think it can provide young people a bit of confidence that despite the supposed handicap of being different, being gay, you can accomplish anything.”

His book includes more than 1,000 individuals from various walks of life, illustrating that queerness is not a limitation, but a source of resilience and power. “Almost all of these prominent people, with a few notable exceptions, stayed true to themselves, and the more honest they were with their friends, their family, their associates, the happier they were,” he says.

These accounts not only inspire personal empowerment but also serve a greater purpose: integrating queer stories into mainstream understanding. LGBTQ+ individuals deserve recognition not as exceptions, but as integral contributors to the human story.

Pride as Protest

The modern Pride movement is often associated with joy, visibility, and celebration. But at its core, Pride has always been rooted in protest. That spirit feels especially present today as the LGBTQ+ community faces renewed threats to hard-won freedoms.

After marriage equality was achieved in the U.S., there was a sense among many that the major battles had been won. But today’s climate reveals how fragile progress can be. In this context, Pride is once again returning to its roots—not as a victory lap, but as a rallying cry. Learning queer history fuels this shift, grounding activism in the lived experiences of those who’ve fought similar battles before.

By understanding where the movement comes from, today’s LGBTQ+ advocates are better equipped to carry it forward. History offers more than perspective; it offers a path. It affirms that progress is possible, but never guaranteed.

Honoring the Past, Defending the Future

Queer history is more than a collection of stories—it’s a testament to perseverance, authenticity, and impact. Yet throughout time, it has often been overlooked, misrepresented, or erased. Today, in a political climate increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ visibility, that erasure is no longer subtle. When institutions attempt to rewrite history by omitting queer contributions or denying trans existence, it becomes clear that preserving and uplifting these narratives is not only necessary—it’s urgent.

In the face of such efforts, queer history becomes a powerful act of resistance. It reminds the world that LGBTQ+ people have always existed, shaped culture, and contributed to progress. It challenges false narratives with truth and offers future generations a legacy of resilience to draw strength from. As Pride continues to evolve from celebration to call-to-action, reclaiming history is one of the most vital tools for protecting identity, confronting injustice, and pushing toward lasting equality. Now more than ever, remembering is an act of revolution, and telling the truth is how we honor those who made Pride possible.

And remember: every day is all we have, so you've got to make your own happiness.

For more information on this topic, listen to Episode 155. Queers in History: Pride, Resistance, and Fighting Erasure (with Keith Stern).

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