News

Lowell, MA — November 19, 2024 — History UnErased, a pioneering non-profit organization dedicated to bringing LGBTQ-inclusive history into mainstream US history, civics, and social studies, is proud to announce it has received its first federal grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. This grant, awarded by the Library’s Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives Office under the Center for Learning Literacy and Engagement, will support The Past Is Always Present project, a collaboration with Houses on the Moon Theater Company to develop a new play paired with a dynamic method of creating and presenting educational content that reaches students, educators, and the community at large with US LGBTQ history that would otherwise be missed or misunderstood.

Boston — November 1, 2024 — The Women’s Edge today announced History UnErased was named as an awardee in the 1st annual Impact Awards, which honors Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts whose impact far exceeds their size. One of five awardees, History UnErased and its leader, Deb Fowler, have been selected as key influencers for their significant impact on the advancement of women leaders, diversity, equity, and inclusion across Massachusetts and globally.

National test scores released on May 3rd, 2023, showed a marked drop in students’ knowledge of U.S. history and a modest decline in civics. Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in the early 2000s and its update during the Obama administration, federal policy has required states to test students in reading and math. Periodic testing is also required for science. No such mandate exists for social studies. 

The push for banning LGBTQ education has been spreading across American states. You may have heard about the "Don't Say Gay" Law in Florida and the book bans that are replicating in various states.

But do you know why teaching LGBTQ history in schools is vital? Listen to the latest episode from Reconsider Everything: The American History Project featuring History UnErased's co-founder, Debra Fowler.

As Colorado debates what to teach in history classes, here’s what LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum looks like. History UnErased’s curriculum is an example of the lessons Colorado schools could choose to teach to comply with a 2019 state law requiring public schools to teach the historical contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in history classes. The bill created the 1192 Commission, which used History UnErased as one of its resources when it made recommendations to the committee revising the state’s social studies standards on how to meet the requirements of the 2019 law.

In this CBS News Boston PRIDE Month 2022 segment, you will learn why PRIDE is in June and learn how History UnErased is bringing our LGBTQ US history curriculum into K-12 schools across the country.

How integrating digitized collections from across cultural institutions can create impactful learning experiences and more holistic narratives by Ashley Naranjo & Lee Ann Potter, June 16th, 2022

History UnErased's mission is to make LGBT topics part of the mainstream U.S. education curriculum. Debra Fowler, the organization's co-founder and executive director, joined CBSN to discuss her inspiration for the program and the important role it plays in teaching American history.