LINCOLN- A new program introduced by History Nebraska seeks to highlight untold stories and call attention to marginalized communities and individuals across the state using new plaques. The first of these, a plaque recognizing and telling the story of Louis Crompton, a pioneer in gay and gender studies and the first openly gay professor in Nebraska, is already being displayed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Crompton's marker is one of 40 set to be displayed around the state, which will be erected by the Historical Marker Equity Program. According to Program Director Autumn Langemeier, the history and stories of underrepresented communities in Nebraska are being overshadowed because of a lack of resources. "Communities are expected to fundraise and provide this money themselves," said Langemeier, "which means many times the people that can afford to get these markers for their communities live in much more affluent communities."

Funding for the new plaques came from the Nebraska Legislature's budget, and History Nebraska is also planning on updating ten current plaques. "We've developed a better understanding of the events that happened that are represented, or in some cases, we've there was hearsay or local lore represented as fact," said Langemeier of those ten plaques. A few of the new plaques are will share the stories of contributions made to the state by Japanse and Latino American historical figures.

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