Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician in the United States. He is best known for advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and representation, making him a pioneer in the fight for equality. Here are the best Milk Harvey quotes from the visionary thinker that will inspire you to stand up for yourself and stay true to yourself.
Who was Harvey Milk?
Milk was the first openly gay elected to a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the state of California. He became a prominent figure who inspired hope not only in the gay community, but also in the lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities.
Apart from protecting gay rights, Milk battled for various social changes in areas such as child care, education, low-income housing, and public transportation.
He became an icon in San Francisco because of his efforts and views on change and equality. He also worked on many policies that would make San Francisco a better, safer, and cheaper place to live in.
Although Milk was only in office for a short time, he was highly looked upon for successfully implementing several developing changes in California, including pushing an anti-discrimination law protecting members of the LGBT community.
Because of his admirable efforts on equality, Milk is honored with Harvey Milk Day which is celebrated on May 22. His name has also been inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
Tragically, Milk was assassinated in November 1978, leaving behind a legacy of activism that continues to inspire millions of people around the globe to strive for a more inclusive and just society.
These inspirational and famous Harvey Milk quotes about hope, politics, activism, human rights, and the LGBTQ+ community will inspire you to fight for what is right and always be true to who you are.
Top 10 Harvey Milk Quotes
- “Hope will never be silent.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quotes - “It takes no compromise to give people their rights.” — Harvey Milk
Quotes From Harvey Milk - “Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.” — Harvey Milk
Quotes By Harvey Milk - “I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Famous Quotes - “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” — Harvey Milk
Best Harvey Milk Quotes - “We can set examples so that others will follow. We can start overnight.” — Harvey Milk
Inspiring Harvey Milk Quotes - “If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Sayings - “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quote - “All men are created equal. No matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” — Harvey Milk
- “If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities… the expression of love… then life itself loses its meaning.” — Harvey Milk
Best Harvey Milk Quotes
- “Don’t let people happen to you.” — Harvey Milk
- “Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door.” — Harvey Milk
- “How can people change their minds about us if they don’t know who we are?” — Harvey Milk
- “I personally will never forget that people are more important than buildings.” — Harvey Milk
- “I finally reached the point where I knew I had to become involved or shut up.” — Harvey Milk
- “Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.” — Harvey Milk
- “I will never forget what it was like coming out and having nobody to look up toward.” — Harvey Milk
- “I have never considered myself a candidate. I have always considered myself part of a movement.” — Harvey Milk
- “I think that there’s a distinction between those who use the movement and those who are part of the movement.” — Harvey Milk
- “I think I was always part of the movement. I wish I had time to explain everything I did. Almost everything was done with an eye on the gay movement.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quotes On Love
- “The more people open their hearts to us, the less we will have to fight for our rights.” — Harvey Milk
- “There are people I might have loved had they gotten on the airplane or run down the street after me.” — Harvey Milk
- “That is what loving someone is, that is raw and that is unguarded, and that is all that is worth anything, really.” — Harvey Milk
- “Be with her in meaningful ways because that is beautiful, and that is generous, and that is what loving someone is.” — Harvey Milk
- “Don’t sit there and wait for her to call, go after her because that’s what you should do if you love someone. Don’t wait for them to give you a sign because it might never come.” — Harvey Milk
- “Once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake… their sake… the sake of the youngsters who are becoming scared by the votes from Dade to Eugene.” — Harvey Milk
- “If there’s a message I have to give, it is that I found one overriding thing about my personal election. It’s the fact that if a gay person can be elected, it’s a green light. And you and you and you — you have to give people hope.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quotes On Hope
- “It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone.” — Harvey Milk
- “Without hope, not only are the gays, but the Blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us-es. The us-es will give up.” — Harvey Milk, Hope Speech
- “I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you…And you…And you…Gotta give em hope.” — Harvey Milk
- “I know you can’t live on hope alone. But without hope, life is not worth living. So you, and you and you: You got to give them hope. You got to give them hope!” — Harvey Milk
- “I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they’ll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive.” — Harvey Milk
- “It’s not my victory, it’s yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We’ve given them hope.” — Harvey Milk
- “Every gay person must come out…. Once they realize we are indeed their children, we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all.” — Harvey Milk
- “The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right.” — Harvey Milk
Famous Harvey Milk Quotes On Human Rights
- “I’ll fight for you because I am you.” — Harvey Milk
- “Get out of the bars and into the streets!” — Harvey Milk
- “We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.” — Harvey Milk
- “It takes no compromise to give people their rights… It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.” — Harvey Milk
- “All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.” — Harvey Milk
- “I think that what we actually need… is a little more dirt on the seat of our pants as we sit on the front stoop and talk to our neighbors once again.” — Harvey Milk
- “The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, THAT my friends, is true perversion.” — Harvey Milk
- “Worry about becoming a human being and not about how you can prevent others from enjoying their lives because of your own inability to adjust to life.” — Harvey Milk
- “Let’s make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. And to do that, we must understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living.” — Harvey Milk
- “I would like to see every gay doctor come out, every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out, stand up and let that world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody would imagine. I urge them to do that, urge them to come out. Only that way will we start to achieve our rights.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quotes On Activism
- “Give me your support, and I’ll fight for you.” — Harvey Milk
- “The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods.” — Harvey Milk
- “Some people call me the unofficial mayor of Castro Street.” — Harvey Milk
- “Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice.” — Harvey Milk
- “If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you’d sure have a helluva lot more nuns running around.” — Harvey Milk
- “All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.” — Harvey Milk
- “Gay brothers and sisters… You must come out. Come out to your parents… I know that it is hard and will hurt them but think about how they will hurt you in the voting booth!” — Harvey Milk
- “If every gay person were to come out only to his or her own family, friends, neighbors and fellow workers, within days the entire state would discover that we are not the stereotypes generally assumed.” — Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk Quotes On Politics
- “Coming out is the most political thing you can do.” — Harvey Milk
- “Let me have my tax money go for my protection and not for my prosecution.” — Harvey Milk
- “Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people’s opinion.” — Harvey Milk
- “Politics is theater. It doesn’t matter if you win. You make a statement. You say, “I’m here, pay attention to me.” — Harvey Milk
- “If you help elect more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward.” — Harvey Milk
- “All over the country, they’re reading about me, and the story doesn’t center on me being gay. It’s just about a gay person who is doing his job.” — Harvey Milk
- “We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I’m going to talk about it. And I want you to talk about it.” — Harvey Milk
- “A reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of a building is widely covered. The events that started the American Revolution were the meetings in homes, pubs, on street corners.” — Harvey Milk
More Harvey Milk Quotes
- “Never take an elevator in city hall.” — Harvey Milk
- “Out of the bars and into the streets!” — Harvey Milk
- “If I do a good job, people won’t care if I am green or have three heads.” — Harvey Milk
- “I fully realize that a person who stands for what I stand for, an activist, a gay activist, becomes the target or the potential target for a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or very disturbed with themselves.” — Harvey Milk
- “To sit on the front steps — whether it’s a veranda in a small town or a concrete stoop in a big city — and to talk to our neighborhoods is infinitely more important than to huddle on the living-room lounger and watch a make-believe world in not-quite living color.” — Harvey Milk
Conclusion
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Also, check our collection of Marsha P Johnson Quotes and Frank Kameny Quotes.
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