Harvey Bernard Milk was a gay rights activist and an American politician who was the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, where he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was tragically shot and killed the following year, and numerous books and films have been made about his life. Inspirational Harvey Milk quotes will stir your soul and instill hope in you whenever you need is a little push.
If you’re searching for life quotes and sayings that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of insightful Angela Davis quotes, witty Dorothy Parker quotes, and encouraging Maxine Waters quotes.
Most Famous Harvey Milk Quotes
I stand for all those who feel that the government no longer understands the individual and no longer respects individual rights. Harvey Milk
If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door. Harvey Milk
I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted. Harvey Milk
It takes no compromise to give people their rights it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression. Harvey Milk
I personally will never forget that people are more important than buildings. 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, that is true perversion! Harvey Milk
If every gay person were to come out only to his 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
All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential. Harvey Milk
More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is true perversion. Harvey Milk
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
My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you. 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
Hope will never be silent. Harvey Milk
If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door. Harvey Milk
Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better. Harvey Milk
Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight. 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
It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions. Harvey Milk
Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. 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. 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
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
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. Harvey Milk
Let me have my tax money go for my protection and not for my prosecution. Let my tax money go for the protection of me. Protect my home, protect my streets, protect my car, protect my life, protect my property 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
Coming out is the most political thing you can do. 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 I do a good job, people won’t care if I am green or have three heads. Harvey Milk
Hope is never silent. Harvey Milk
I’m a small businessman and I’m well aware of the uncertainties of the economy, exactly what the inflationary spiral means when I’m forced to raise prices to my customers, and how taxes can eat into your earnings. Harvey Milk
You’ve gotta give them hope. If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door. Harvey Milk
How can people change their minds about us if they don’t know who we are? Harvey Milk
Never take an elevator in city hall. Harvey Milk
Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice. Harvey Milk
We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. Harvey Milk
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 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
Give me your support, and I’ll fight for you. I’ll fight for you because I am you. 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
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
It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions. Harvey Milk
Never take an elevator in city hall. Harvey Milk
Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. Harvey Milk
A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect not only from the larger community but from the young people in our own community who need both examples and hope. Harvey Milk
Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door. 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
Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better. Harvey Milk
Having a small business and being one of thousands of people whom no one in government will listen to, I have decided to run for supervisor as a person. 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
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
If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I’d be walking backward and I don’t want to walk backward. Harvey Milk
All men people are created equal. No matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about. Harvey Milk
Lets make no mistake about this The American Dream starts with the neigborhoods. 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 have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted. Harvey Milk
We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. 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
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, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects I hope that every professional gay will say enough, come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help. Harvey Milk
Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. Harvey Milk
It takes no compromise to give people their rights. 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
I finally reached the point where I knew I had to become involved or shut up. Harvey Milk
Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people’s opinion. Harvey Milk
Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight. 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, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects I hope that every professional gay will say enough, come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help. Harvey Milk
I finally reached the point where I knew I had to become involved or shut up. Harvey Milk
I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted. I have a lot more to drink. For that reason, the political numbers game will be played. I know the rules of their game now and how to play it. Harvey Milk
I have always considered myself part of a movement, part of a candidacy. I considered the movement the candidate. I think that there’s a distinction between those who use the movement and those who are part of the movement. Harvey Milk
San Francisco can start right now to become number one. We can set examples so that others will follow. We can start overnight. We don’t have to wait for budgets to be passed, surveys to be made, political wheelings and dealings for it takes no money It takes no compromising to give the people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression. 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
Coming out is the most political thing you can do. Harvey Milk
Last week I got a phone call from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and the voice was young, my election gave one more young person, 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
Get out of the bars and into the streets! Harvey Milk
We don’t want sympathetic liberals, we want gays to represent gays. I represent the gay street people the 14 year old runaway from San Antonio. We have to make up for hundreds of years of persecution. We have to give hope to that poor runaway kid from San Antonio. They go to the bars because churches are hostile. They need hope! They need a piece of the pie! Harvey Milk
We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. 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
The events that started the American Revolution were the meetings in homes, pubs, on street corners. Harvey Milk
If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. Harvey Milk
Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us’es, the us’es will give up. 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
