Harvey's Words

“We must continue the education that began in this campaign. We must destroy the myths, once and for all, shatter them. And most important of all: every gay person must come out. You must tell your family. You must tell your friends, if they truly are your friends. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. You must tell the people you work with….”
--Harvey Milk on the night of the defeat of the Briggs Initiative which would have banned the employment of gay and lesbian teachers in the California school system. November 1978
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“As the years pass, the guy can be educated, that’s where we disagree. Everyone can be reached. Everyone can be educated and helped. I’m gonna sit next to him every day and let him know we’re not all those bad things he thinks we are.”
--Harvey Milk on Dan White, the man who murdered him.
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“ A true function of politics is not just to pass laws, but to give hope. There have been too many disappointments lately. The real abyss lies not too far ahead when a disappointed people lose their hope forever. When that happens, everything we cherish will be lost.”
--Harvey Milk’s inaugural remarks
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More from Harvey:

"The American dream starts with neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. To sit on the front steps—whether it’s a veranda in a small town or a concrete stoop in a big city—is infinitely more important than to huddle on the living room lounger and watch a make-believe world in not-quite living color."
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"I can be killed with ease.
I can be cut right down.
But I cannot fall back into my closet.
I have grown.
I am not by myself.
I am too many.
I am all of us."



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"If I turned around every time someone called me ‘faggot’ I’d be walking backwards. And I don’t want to go backwards."
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"If a bullet should enter my brain

let that bullet destroy every closet door."