Harvey Milk
Not everyone knows that Harvey Milk lived in San Diego before ever moving to San Francisco. He was stationed here while serving in the U.S. Navy and credited the experience with his love for California and his eventual move to SF.
Because of these San Diego connections many of the historically significant ways we have found to honor Harvey’s legacy have started and been fueled by San Diegans. From awards to a bench in Balboa Park, a Harvey Milk Breakfast, the first street named after Harvey Milk, a US postage stamp, an upcoming definitive biography, and next year the USNS Harvey Milk Naval vessel – San Diegans led those efforts.
These moments aren’t just about us honoring one man’s legacy, they are about flipping a public narrative that LGBTQ folks can and should be celebrated, not denigrated. We are collectively claiming our place in history, and we can’t do that unless we all stay actively engaged in that progress.
Vote by mail ballots will soon be in your hands if that’s how you registered. There is still time to register to vote and to ask for a vote by mail ballot.
San Diego has the highest concentration of LGBTQ elected officials in the country, and that representation only happens when we are a part of the process. If, as in the words of Harvey Milk, you want to “give them hope” then we all need to be a part of this process, and that is how we will Persist with Pride.
Fernando Lopez was the Executive Director of San Diego Pride. Lopez’s years of LGBT advocacy, nonprofit management, public education, diversity consulting, media relations, guest lectures, and organizing have made them a consistent presence ensuring the struggles of the LGBT community are ever visible.
