MILK

"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you. "
Harvey Milk

I've just watched MILK, a movie about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold a major political position in Unites States, San Fransisco. Starring Sean Penn, one of the best actor of all time. This movie is very inspiring for me personally, I don't know why I got inspired by his action to fight for gay right.. but there's something about his personality, his easy going attitude, his ability to move anyone, or whatever.

"Hope will never be silent. " - Harvey Milk, 1978

Many gay people of the late 70s lived in the closet, so the election of an openly gay man was a major milestone in the gay political world and the personal lives of gay individuals. he is so brave..even if he got some assassination threats, Milk only said, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."
That's the day when his famous "HOPE SPEECH" :
"And the young gay people in the Altoona, Pennsylvanias and the Richmond, Minnesotas who are coming out and hear Anita Bryant in television and her story. 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. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone."

On Nov. 27, 1978, Harvey Milk was shot twice in the head by conservative and disgruntled supervisor Daniel White. Milk's death made him a martyr. His supervisor seat was given to openly-gay politician Harry Britt. A year after Milk's death 100,000 people demonstrated for gay rights in Washington D.C. chanting "Harvey Milk Lives." He was also the inspiration for Cleve Jones' AIDS quilt and his bravery the catalyst for the modern day gay rights movement. Today, many gay social institutions are named after Harvey Milk, including The Harvey Milk School in New York City.

"The important thing is not that we can live on hope alone, but that life is not worth living without it." Harvey Milk - 1978

reference :
http://gaylife.about.com/od/gaycelebrityprofiles/p/harveymilkmilch.htm
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/harvey_milk.html