After school on Friday, March 14, invited guest speaker Jeffrey Solomon spoke to Ayala’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) club in advisor Mrs. Natalie Cooney’s classroom about the importance of LGBTQ+ history especially in today’s age. Everyone was welcome via RSVP with pizza available for those willing to attend.
Solomon is the co-founder of the Houses on the Moon Theater Company, which strives to bring voices that may be unrecognized to light. He was also granted a prestigious grant from the Library of Congress. With this experience under his belt, the board members of GSA club wanted him to come in and speak to their members about queer history.
Anytime a guest speaker is available to talk to a class it can be a valuable experience for those participating in the activity, so when Cooney found out about Solomon, she knew it would be an important experience as well as the club advisor.
“I think anytime there’s a person who’s well-written around and influential in their field, and students are able to come listen to that person, it’s a good opportunity,” Cooney said. “So regardless of [whether] they’re playwright or astrophysicist or whatever, it’s always a good opportunity for students to learn from a person who’s an expertise in their field.”
During this presentation, Solomon talked a lot about how people would come together to form protests and groups to help push back against oppressors, which were made to show that people from the LGBTQ+ community didn’t want to be silenced. These groups went against different laws and orders that oppressed the queer community, pushing the boundaries for the next generation.
Solomon also talked about current queer history and about his own experiences as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. This kind of history is important to learn about because it is something that is often overlooked and sometimes not thought about, even though a lot of this history could be prevalent to today’s age.
“[Queer history] is something that gets overlooked a lot in the education system, and I think that a lot of people aren’t informed of things that have happened throughout history and how recent a lot of this history is,” GSA Club Publicity Manager Erin Horner (12) said. “I think that it was important that people listen to his message and about the truth behind a lot of queer history.”
With GSA’s mission being to have a safe inclusive environment for everyone where people can learn about understanding and acceptance and empower people to make their voices heard, Solomon did a great job in representing those values by showing that it is okay to speak out and that everyone deserves to have a healthy accepting environment to live in.
“The message of the club has been since day one about inclusivity, to act as a safe space in a world that doesn’t quite accept everyone for who they are,” GSA Club President Collin Moreno-Crestejo (12). “This guest speaker, he has received a grant from the Library of Congress to help LGBTQ+ youth to write a play about LGBTQ+ youth, and he aligns with the morals of inclusivity to create a safe space.”
The roots of queer history have been in place for a longer time than people may think, showing that this is not just a recent thing. The importance of this history is undeniable and being able to learn it can be a valuable experience to help make the world a better and more progressive place.
“It’s very important that, especially in current times, we are aware of the flood has occurred in the past, and that history has a tendency to repeat itself,” Moreno-Crestejo said.
