CGI: Illuminating LGBTQ History for a Better Tomorrow

 

the past is always present logo

 

 

Our Commitment to Action!


"The Past Is Always Present"

LGBTQ history is being erased. We're putting it center stage. 

This educational theater project is a collaboration with Houses on the Moon Theater Company to develop and produce an original musical that brings to life powerful, untold stories that have been left out of our U.S. history education.

We're ensuring these stories are seen, heard, and remembered!

 

This Open Educational Resource is in development and was launched with funding from the Library of  Congress.

Our Commitment to Action was highlighted on the Leaders Stage at the Clinton Global Initiative's Meeting in 2024.


 

MEETING THE MOMENT

New and emerging efforts are underway to digitize LGBTQ primary sources alongside the growing number of states enacting laws and policies restricting LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in public schools, and the distortion or erasure of LGBTQ history from national institutions, museums, exhibits, and websites. 

"The Past Is Always Present" is our new approach to sharing LGBTQ-inclusive US history! The musical, targeted for high school stage productions, brings to life stories that have been overlooked or erased from the historical narrative and connects those stories to a broader and more accurate reflection of America — to inspire, educate, and entertain!

 

 

The Bosque School, Albuquerque, NM, Theater Students Workshopping the Script with Jeffrey Solomon, lead playwright, Emily Joy Weiner, Artistic Director, and Raliegh Neal, Music Composer. May 2025.The Bosque School, Albuquerque, NM, Theater Students Workshopping the Script with Jeffrey Solomon, lead playwright; Emily Joy Weiner, Artistic Director; and Raliegh Neal, Music Composer. May 2025.

 

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

Year One, October 2024 - September 2025: We are using digital primary sources from the Library of Congress and state and local archives to create and pilot the musical with students in Los Angeles, CA, Albuquerque, NM, and in NYC at the Hetrick-Martin Institute in collaboration with National Queer Theater. Educational materials development includes case studies with video introductions and more.

Subsequent Years: "The Past Is Always Present" will continue its creative development process with high school students in states that are currently restricting students' access to LGBTQ-inclusive history. This process, which includes primary source improv, will expand the script to include bonus acts that highlight LGBTQ history from state and local archives in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and many more.

 

A New York City Public School student sent us an audio audition file, putting music to some of the lyrics included in the application form. She recorded this while on the subway. Have a listen!

 

New York City students workshopping/piloting the script and music score at the Hetrick-Martin Institute in June 2025:

 

Before the programming began, students were asked, "What do you think about when you think of LGBTQ history? What are you hoping to learn more about?" Below are a few of their responses:

 

"I am hungry to learn this history. I want to see and know for a fact that we existed back then, even if people deny it."Jade


"I think of Two Spirits in Indigenous communities and the way they are revered and normalized as an inspiration to our culture and experience today, especially having an ethnic connection to Indigenous Americans. I am so excited to learn more about the regular queer people in everyone’s history and how they can change the way we see the present time." — Parker


"I want to know how learning about LGBTQ history changes mindsets about the world." — Casandra


 

 

MEET THE TEAM

Jeffrey Solomon

Jeffrey Solomon

Playwright

Emily Joy Weiner

Emily Joy Weiner

Artistic Director

Raliegh Neal II

Raliegh Neal II

Composer

Robb Leigh Davis

Robb Leigh Davis

Artist & Educator

Kathleen Barker

Kathleen Barker

Program Director

 

Jocardo Ralston

Jocardo Ralston

Artist & Developer

 

Mor Erlich

Mor Erlich

Video & Animation

J. Eric Fisher

J. Eric Fisher

Artist & Developer

Jayson Caluag

Jayson Caluag

Graphic Designer

Dinah Mack

Dinah Mack

Content Developer

Tyler Albertario

Tyler Albertario

Archival Researcher

Danny Roberts

Danny Roberts

Project Manager

 

Visit our STAFF page to learn more about History UnErased's team. CLICK HERE to learn more about Houses on the Moon Theater Company.


 

COMMITTED DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS

Our committed distribution partners will be sharing "The Past Is Always Present" with educators and constituencies in their networks nationwide, and in turn, those recipients will then share "The Past Is Always Present" within their educational contexts — reaching nearly 2,500,000 lives and exponentially more lives indirectly! 

 

National Council for the Social Studies

William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum

New-York Historical Society

Out Youth Texas

Colorado LGBTQ History Project

Invisible Histories Project

International Schools

Scholarly Editing

Equality Pennsylvania

Maryland Center for History and Culture

Teach Plus

Tranz Central Coast

University of Texas Austin

American University

Waynesburg University

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Fordham University

Sonoma State University

Central Connecticut State University

Middlesex Community College

University of Michigan

Augusta University

University of Southern Maine

University of California Los Angeles

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Astrea Foundation

Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Highline Heritage Museum

Stonewall Columbus

Kaleidoscope Youth Center Ohio

OutWords

Queer Humboldt

Humboldt Pride

New York Public Library

National Queer Theater

 

 

Join us in revamping the script of American history!

You can make a gift to help us expand this project by clicking the donate button at the bottom of your screen.

CONTACT US if your organization is interested in becoming a distribution partner or sponsor of 2026 productions.

 

SERENDIPITY

After submitting our grant proposal to the Library of Congress for "The Past Is Always Present" project, Mor Erlich discovered the following primary source (from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture) when creating the intro video for our case study about James Baldwin. 

 

James Baldwin's handwritten notes on Sheraton Tacoma Hotel notepad [circa 1963]


Malcolm X's Question... to Be a Citizen of The nation? The world? The race?

A. to confront Religion / Race / Power

B. The question of Identity

C. Involving History

D. Identity of History being synonymous: being the Present

E. Attempting to make the Past / History