San Francisco History — The Project

Sara in her pride shirt and mouse earsA few weeks ago, my daughter came home with a list of topics and an assignment to do some sort of project about something related to San Francisco history.  She had been instructed to pick one that her parents knew about so she could get help with it.  I scanned the list of possible subjects and spotted The Gay Rights Movement.  That was a no-brainer.  I grew up in San Francisco and remember the assassination of Harvey Milk as if it were yesterday.  I spent a lot of time — for a straight kid with straight parents — in the Castro because it was close to where I had rehearsals and not too far from the Opera House.  It was a neat place to hang out on the way home.  So, it seemed obvious which topic would be best.  After all, what do I know about cable cars?

Well, we did a lot of research. We visited the GLBT History Museum in the Castro and the site of Harvey Milk’s camera store, Castro Camera — now a store and history center run by the Human Rights Campaign.  We interviewed some friends — a gay couple living here and a family friend living in New York who grew up here.  We talked about a lot of things and she put it all together in a powerpoint presentation, which she presented to her class on Harvey Milk’s birthday.

One of the claims made by those who oppose equality and civil rights is that if we treat LGBT people like, well, people,  we’ll have to teach our kids about them.  We’ll have to tell our kids that there are gay people in the world!  But the fact is that there are gay and lesbian and bisexual and transgender and other folks in the world and that makes it a better place.  History is full of LGBT folks who got us to where we are today and there will be more to come.  Closer to home, our kids will undoubtedly have friends who either are gay or have gay parents or family members.  It’s important to teach kids about all the people that make life so interesting.

And because of all that, I am very proud that my daughter picked this topic and I’m very proud of the job she did in researching, compiling, and presenting the information.  Here then, is her presentation.

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8th Annual Blogging for LGBT Families DayThis post is proud part of Blogging for LGBT Families Day.

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