Harvey Milk Quotes

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.

The single most important thing you can do politically for gay rights is to come out. Not to write a letter to your congressman but to come out.

The first gay people we elect must be strong. They must not be content to sit in the back of the bus. They must not be content to accept pablum. They must be above wheeling and dealing.

I knew that I was gay in every bone of my body. So I did the only thing I could do. I started the movement.

There's still a lot I'm angry about, a lot of human behaviour that's appalling and despicable, but you choose what you can fight against. I always thought if I could just put something in words perfectly enough, people would get the idea and it would change things.

One thing the gay rights movement taught the world is the importance of being visible.

I've been a very effective leader in the gay rights movement, though at times I've been controversial.

Gays and lesbians gained rights in this country though activism and organizing, creating political space and demanding change so that lawmakers and justices could do what they knew was right. That organizing allowed Americans to get to know gays and lesbians as our daughters and sons, our neighbors, and our friends.

There are tons of gay issues that are important, from gay marriage to adoption rights to work-place discrimination and more... but I think the biggest gay issue is the level of involvement of the gay community to demand change. So many gays think that other gays will take care of it. To fix this, people need to realize that they CAN make a change, but no one person can do it alone.

A lot of people criticized me for speaking out, not long ago, about gay marriage. I could not remain silent any longer. It's the civil rights of our day. It's the issue of our day.

We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.

I may have no idea what I'm talking about," I said, a little ticked off now. "But we're all a part of a minority waiting for a majority to pull their heads out of their asses.

You have to take your hat off to the homosexual and gay community cause right now they're as strong as black people USE to be when it comes to their rights.

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.

I've gotten a lot of young gay kids come up to me and talk to me about how the little things I've said in the press has helped them come out to their parents, or just be open with who they are, and feeling invigorated by that. So that honestly means a lot to me to hear that the things that I say in the press, they do hear, and they see, and it helps them at least to start the conversation.

We all get outraged by things and there are things that make us angry and maybe for a while we get angry enough to actually go do something about it.

In less than a century we experienced great movement. The youth movement! The labor movement! The civil rights movement! The peace movement! The solidarity movement! The women's movement! The disability movement! The disarmament movement! The gay rights movement! The environmental movement! Movement! Transformation! Is there any reason to believe we are done?

I'm an activist; I have to be angry all the time. That's what we do!

There's a better way to speak out against President Putin and call out his bigotry for exactly what it is: speaking up for equal rights and educating people around the world about the persistence of homophobia. Rather than boycott, I, along with several amazing organizations including Athlete Ally and All Out, plan to use the Sochi Games as a teachable moment for the world.

I'm gay. I just didn't think it was anybody's business.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

Has he paid his dues? Is he black enough? John Lewis and I were out there marching and organizing sit-ins back in the '60s so that his children and my children would not have to do it. We would have been failures if had to do the same things we did.

If you join a fight for social justice you may win or lose, but just by being part of the struggle, you win, and your life will be better for it.

There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted until the good societies realize.

I am a revolutionary; my life is dedicated to freeing the people.