Today, is Harvey Milk Day and I’m thinking about the courage it takes to be truly visible—to stand openly and authentically in one’s truth, despite the risks and resistance. Harvey Milk’s life and legacy remind us that visibility is more than a statement; it’s a revolutionary act.
Milk said, “Hope will never be silent.” These words resonate deeply today, as they did then. The challenges our LGBTQ+ community faces have shifted forms, yet our need for hope—and action—remains just as pressing. Milk’s insistence on visibility, representation, and speaking out created a path for countless others to follow.
For me, as a queer Black person, immigrant, father, and advocate for humanity, visibility is complex—it is intersectional, and it demands an acknowledgment of all our overlapping identities. Milk understood this deeply: our struggle for equality is inseparable from the struggle against all forms of oppression.
Today, let’s commit to hope, to visibility, and to relentless advocacy. Let’s remember that each of us carries forward our history every time we choose to live openly, authentically, and loudly—advocating not just for ourselves, but for everyone whose voice has yet to be heard.
Let us never allow hope to be silent.
