October 11: National Coming Out Day

Another National Coming Out Day (NCOD) has rolled around,  and today on The Narrator, we’re excited to celebrate individuals’ coming out as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people.

NCOD built upon the impact of one of the largest events in LGBT history that had happened only one year before: the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11, 1987. According to the Human Rights Campaign  the demonstration that year was the birthplace of numerous LGBT organizations, including the National Latino/a Gay & Lesbian Organization (LLEGÓ) and AT&T’s LGBT employee group, LEAGUE. But despite increased organization within the LGBT civil rights movement, there was more work to be done in making it safe for people to publicly engage in “the process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates his or her sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others.” On the anniversary of the march in 1988, that safe space became recognized as National Coming Out Day.

Today, NCOD is observed on college campuses and in communities around the world, and today on The Narrator, a few individuals will share their coming out stories, issue rallying cries to LGBT community alies, and offer some advice to hold close the other 364 days of the year.

Next Up on The Narrator: Alexis Clements on ‘Getting it right’