LGBT History Month was first celebrated in 1994. LGBT History Month was first proposed by Rodney Wilson, the first out Missouri Public School teacher. Wilson's rationale behind selecting October as LGBT History Month was to honor National Coming Out Day (October 11) which was first celebrated in 1988 as well as the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Unique to our Champaign-Urbana community is that the first national planning meeting for the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights took place within our community! The 1979 coordinating meeting was organized by Jeff Graubart.
Currently, LGBT History Month is celebrated annually and has been adopted by many nations around the globe. We dedicated our 2022 LGBT History month to all of our LGBTQIA+, non-binary, and gender non-conforming Illini community!
2026 Calendar
Library Friends Exhibit: Celebrating Pride: 50+ Years of LGBTQ+ History at Illinois
Monday, September 28 - Friday, October 30, 9 am - 5 pm
Location: Main Library Display Cases Near Main Stacks
Build-Queeri-Day w/ the GSRC
Thursday, October 1, 11 am - 1 pm
Location: Illini Union (Quad Side)
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Historical LGBTQ+ Figures in STEM w/ OSTEM
Thursday, October 1, 7 pm - 8 pm
Location: GSRC
Quench: Get to Know our On-Site Services
Monday, October 5, 12 - 1 pm
Location: GSRC
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
LGBTQIA+ Community and Allies Lunch and Learn w/LAS Inclusive Excellence
Tuesday, October 6, 12 - 1 pm
Location: Illini Union, Room 210
Free
Inclusivity at Work: Discovering and Building an Inclusive Workplace w/Career Services
Tuesday, October 6, 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Location: GSRC
Food for the Soul: #BeyondAlly w/ Dr. Yolanda Williams-Goliday
Wednesday, October 7, 12 - 1 pm
Location: BNAACC
Music Bingo w/ NetworQ
Wednesday, October 7, 7 - 9 pm
Location: Pour Bros Craft Taproom
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Celebrate National Coming Out Day w/Gies College of Business
Thursday, October 8, 11 am - 1 pm
Location: BIS (Lincoln International Atrium, 1st floor)
Black and Transgender Migration and Visions of Sanctuary w/ Willie Mack and Devin Lowe
Thursday, October 8, 6 - 9 pm
Location: Latzer Hall (University YMCA)
National Coming Out Day Celebration w/the GSRC
Friday, October 9, 11 am - 1 pm
Location: Illini Union (Quad Side)
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Book Discussion: Hench w/Queer Book Club
Sunday, October 11, 2 - 4 pm
Location: English Building, Room 115
Champaign-Urbana Pride Fest 2026
Monday, October 12 - Saturday, October 17
Hosted by: Uniting Pride
For additional information visit: 2026 Pride Fest – Uniting Pride
C-U Pride Parade Poster Making w/GSRC
Monday, October 12 - Friday, October 16, 9 am - 5 pm
Location: GSRC
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
The Power of Intersectionality w/BlacQ Queer Collective (BlacQ)
Monday, October 12, 6 pm
Location: BNAACC
Prism Picnic w/Residential Life
Tuesday, October 13, 6 pm
Location: Krannert Lawn (Corner of Oregon and Gregory)
Read and Resist
Wednesday, October 14, 1 - 3 pm
Location: Illini Union (Quad Side)
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Book Talk: Beyond Blood: Chosen Family, Liberation, and a Battle to Belong w/Author Rev. Dr. Jason Carson Wilson
Thursday, October 15, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Location: Amy's Place
Movie: Out in the Open w/University Housing - Inclusion and Leadership Mentors
Thursday, October 15, 6 pm
Location: SDRP 2009
LGBTQ+ Ally Training 101: Introduction to the LGBTQ+ Community
Friday, October 16, 10 am - 12 pm
Location: ACRC HUB 3080
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
All participants must register here.
Library Friends Webinar: Celebrating Pride: 50+ years of LGBTQ+ History at Illinois w/University of Illinois Library Friends
Friday, October 16, 12 - 1 pm
Register: https://go.library.illinois.edu/pride
Friday Forum x Conversation Cafe: LGBTQ Advocacy: Past & Present
Friday, October 16, 12 - 1 pm
Location: Latzer Hall (University YMCA)
C-U Pride Parade and Festival
Saturday, October 17, 1 pm
Want to walk in the Parade w/ the GSRC Family? RSVP: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1216945074?
Quench: Hey So, Why Does Pride Exist?
Monday, October 19, 12 - 1 pm
Location: La Casa
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Queer Survivor Strategies w/Women's Resources Center
Monday, October 19, 5:30 - 7 pm
Location: GSRC
Queer Lingo Night w/BlacQ Queer Collective
Monday, October 19, 6 pm
Location: BNAACC, Multipurpose Room
Transfer Treats and Crafts w/New Student and Family Experiences
Tuesday, October 20, 5 - 7 pm
Location: GSRC
Queer in Pajamas w/ Entre Hermanes
Tuesday, October 20, 9 pm
Location: La Casa
Pronouns and Popsicles w/GSRC
Wednesday, October 21, 12 - 3 pm
Location: Illini Union (Quad Side)
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Pride Celebration Dinner w/ Ikenberry & Lincoln - Allen (LAR) Dining Center
Wednesday, October 21, 4:30 pm
Location: IKE & LAR Dining Centers
Meal-Swipe, Dining Dollars, or $18.76+tax
LGBTQ+ Ally Training 102: Becoming an Ally
Friday, October 23, 10 am - 12 pm
Location: ACRC HUB 3080
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
All participants must register here.
Public Tour: LGBTQ+ History Month w/Spurlock Museum of World Cultures
Sunday, October 24, 2 pm
Location: Spurlock Museum
Book Discussion: A Dark and Drowning Tide w/Queer Book Club
Sunday, October 25, 2 - 4 pm
Location: English Building, Room 115
GSRC's Queer-O-Ween Costume Party
Thursday, October 29, 7 - 9 pm
Location: GSRC
Hosted by: Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
Exclusion from Queer Spaces w/Aspace & CUTES
Wednesday, October 28, 7 - 9 pm
Location: GSRC