Gay Pride Month may be a several weeks away, but students can learn about a hero of the LGBTQ rights movement today. Harvey Milk was the first openly elected gay official in California’s history, serving only 10 months before his assassination in November 1978.
While Milk’s political tenure was cut tragically short, his voice led the movement for LGBTQ rights that continues in the 21st century. His “You’ve Got to Have Hope” speech, presented at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in June 1978, illustrates how his devotion to equality inspired a city, and ultimately the nation.
Help your students discover how Milk not only helped gay men and women come out of the 1970s closet, but planted the seeds of a political movement that would steadily gain strength over the next 40 years.
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