The "Lavender Scare" was a period of persecution and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in the federal government, coinciding with (and arguably outlasting) the Red Scare and McCarthyism, where homosexuality was equated with communist subversion and led to the firing and forced resignation of thousands of federal employees. In this session, participants will interact with a lesson plan and resources from the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy. The focus of this lesson will be to use congressional investigations and hearings to deepen student understanding of the reality of the “Lavender Scare”. Students will be tasked with examining a time when government policy both implicitly and explicitly sought to marginalize LGBTQ+ Americans and analyze the issues of equity, power, and justice created when society gives in to fear and paranoia.
