Our mission is putting LGBTQ history in its rightful place — the classroom.
Now, more than ever, a truthful and inclusive story of America has the power to unite all students and guide us toward a more welcoming and engaged society.
The Freedom to Learn
Before November 2024, our approach was entirely a whole-school partnership model. Now, we are putting the power in teachers' hands with our Single-Teacher License! With the support of donors, we are building an empowerment movement by offering our Single-Teacher License at a steeply discounted rate of $150 for the full, supplemental curriculum — a $500 value. As a result, our curriculum is now reaching students in many more states including TX, FL, MO, AZ, NM, AL, UT, TN, SD, VA, NC, GA, WY, LA, and OH. Learn More
For over a decade, History UnErased has spent countless hours meticulously curating LGBTQ primary sources from digital and print collections from libraries and archives across the country for our "Intersections & Connections" curriculum. Some primary sources are from print collections that have never been seen before; some are from digital archives that are in danger of being removed from websites. But the archive of primary sources on our curriculum platform cannot be deleted.
Our curriculum and Single-Teacher License are working together as the UnderGround Railroad for the freedom to learn!
Grassroots Approach
The idea to found History UnErased began in one classroom in 2014. To date, we have trained thousands of K-12 educators in nearly 3,000 schools in dozens of states (and growing) who are now teaching our curriculum in mainstream classrooms and impacting approximately 3,000,000 students annually.
Theory of Change
We are elevating history, civics, and social studies as a critical core discipline that is LGBTQ-inclusive. This will improve civic participation and create classrooms and communities where all Americans are seen as equal citizens — advancing the ideals of liberty and justice for all Americans.
The Impact Data Speaks Volumes
In the Fall of 2024, we surveyed teachers who have been integrating our curriculum within their mainstream courses:
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87.5% of teachers responded that their students' knowledge of history and civics improved with LGBTQ-inclusive content
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25% of teachers responded that student attendance improved with LGBTQ-inclusive classroom instruction
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18% of teachers responded that their students' ability to contextualize history improved with LGBTQ-inclusive content
Deb Fowler (she/her), Co-founder and Executive Director
Deb's path to the education profession began with her service in the United States Army as a Korean linguist, before the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. (Her "Fraudulent Entry" discharge story is featured in Vincent Cianni’s award-winning book Gays in the Military). After teaching English at a private academy in South Korea, she returned to the United States in 2004 and spent the next decade teaching new immigrant and refugee students at a large, urban, truly diverse high school. During that time, she produced two documentary films, Hard Truth, Levity, and Hope (2011) and Through Gay Eyes (2013) to promote awareness of students and families who are ignored, marginalized, or excluded within the public school system.
"I didn't have the opportunity to serve our country in uniform, but by being a boots-on-the-ground classroom teacher and leading History UnErased, I found a way to be of service to the ideals of American democracy." — Deb Fowler
Miriam Morgenstern (she/her), Co-founder
Teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, and entrepreneur, Miriam has had over 30 years to develop her philosophy that children and adults are natural learners, and in the optimum environment, they have the capacity for deep learning and boundless creativity. Miriam taught history and English to non-native speakers in a large urban high school, where she developed innovative programs and mentored new teachers. She developed and taught the nation's first and only Cambodian Culture and Conflict course and created international teacher exchange programs that are still in place today. Miriam is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching excellence and was chosen by the government of Cambodia to facilitate Cambodia's first Genocide National Teacher Training Program in Phnom Penh. Miriam received a B.S. in Politics from Brandeis University and an M.S. TESL from SUNY Albany.
“Teachers cannot be expected to teach what they haven't learned themselves. Teachers need high-quality training, a curriculum they can easily integrate, and ongoing support. Teachers are vital to our mission.” - Miriam Morgenstern
