At 11am, on a beautiful Monday morning, on November 27, 1978,  San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed in cold blood by disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White.

San Francisco ground to a halt. Many offices and businesses closed. People wept openly in the streets. Strangers hugged each other, trying to offer comfort. But there was no comfort.
That was 32 years ago, and there is still no comfort today.
But Harvey Milk left us a legacy. He profoundly influenced gay and lesbian politics, and was a champion of human rights. Milk once said, “…you’ve got to keep electing gay people…to know there is better hope for tomorrow. Not only for gays, but for blacks, Asians, the disabled, our senior citizens and us. Without hope, we give up. I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it life is not worth living. You and you and you have got to see that the promise does not fade.”

Harvey’s martyrdom is a painful reminder of the length and difficulty of the journey to freedom.
Harvey Milk a true LGBT hero and legend. His actions and words must never be forgotten. To this day we must listen to them, learn from them and follow them.
This is Harvey’s legacy to us.

 

Will Kohler, owner and creator of Back2Stonewall.com is one of the country’s leading experts on LGBT History, Media and Popular Culture. For more info visit:www.back2stonewall.com