PBS has removed a series of videos about LGBTQ history from its website for educators, under pressure from recent presidential executive orders—but the videos, aimed at middle and high school students, have found a new home.
PBS, which gets approximately 15% of its funding from the federal government, confirmed to local news outlet Hell Gate that it removed “Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators Collection,” from its PBS LearningMedia website in response to recent executive orders. It did not specify which order, although it seems likely that it was the one banning “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology” in K-12 institutions receiving federal funding.
The toolkit included a series of “Hidden Voices” videos, created through a partnership between PBS affiliate WNET, the New York City Council, and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), and intended to complement NYCDOE’s “Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History” social studies curriculum supplement that was launched in 2021. Each short video (most about five to 10 minutes) profiles a figure from LGBTQ history or covers pivotal moments in that history, while supporting materials offer discussion guides, teaching tips, and copies of primary sources.
NYCDOE has now stepped up to host the videos and materials itself on a department website, reports education news outlet Chalkbeat. The videos are also available as a YouTube playlist.
Historian Daniel Hurewitz, who was lead author of the LGBTQ Hidden Voices curriculum and scripted some of the videos, told Chalkbeat, however, that while it’s great the materials will continue to be available, “At the same time, I’m confident that PBS as a website has a bigger reach.”
Herewith my attempt to help spread the word about this great resource. The videos are aimed at middle school and high school students, but may also be of interest to adults who want to learn more about LGBTQ history. I daresay most of us didn’t learn about this in our own school days.
New York is not one of the seven states that explicitly requires LGBTQ inclusion in state curricular standards, but New York City was an early leader in queer-inclusive education—or tried to be. In 1991, NYCDOE created “Children of the Rainbow,” a multicultural first-grade curriculum intended to enhance understanding and reduce discrimination. Only a few pages of that 443-page curriculum touch on queer identities—two pages discuss diverse family structures and mention gay and lesbian parents; another page suggests some lesbian- and gay-inclusive picture books in a reading list, and the section about family includes a few sketches that seem to be of same-sex parents and their kids. Nevertheless, some parents objected and the whole thing blew up, leading to the firing of the NYCDOE chancellor. I’m glad to see the NYCDOE standing up some 30 years later for a curriculum that teaches young people accurately about the varied world around them—a world that includes LGBTQ people.
Below is just one of the many “Hidden Voices” videos. I’ve chosen this one about Albert Cashier, a Union soldier of the Civil War and a transgender man (although he didn’t use the term), because of the current attacks on transgender service members. Let’s remember our history and our heroes, folks. Also, the video won a New York Emmy (PDF) in 2021. Enjoy—and then go visit the full list of videos and materials on the NYC Social Studies & Civics Hub or watch all the videos on YouTube. Dial up one every night with your kid(s)!
I don’t believe in censorship of any kind especially by a Public Broadcasting Service. Keep those LGBTQ programs on the shelves.