SF’s Harvey Milk Plaza Needs to Remain a Community Gathering Place

It’s the beginning of the rainbow (of civic activism).

In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle published in July of 2021, Ryan Kost opened his essay by mentioning that a Castro community group tried again to redesign Harvey Milk Plaza, by writing the following:

The night San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated, many expected a riot; instead, hundreds gathered at the intersection of Castro and Market streets for a solemn candlelight vigil and walked to City Hall. There, according to Brian Springfield, director of Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, Harry Britt, the man who would succeed Milk, promised that one day, there would be “something special” with Milk’s name on it.

I can still remember watching the evening news with my family on the day Harvey Milk was assassinated. I never met Harvey in person, and I was not yet out to my family. But, I sunk deep into the sofa in silence — as my young gay heart felt heavy with the weight of that loss. I knew a piece of my history was gone forever.

In 2007, I named the Harvey Milk Public Monument project at San Francisco City Hall as my annual Pride party beneficiary. A monumental bronze bust of Milk — who was the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in the United States; the same man who later became a hero and leader of the gay rights movement — would be dedicated in the rotunda of City Hall at the top of the grand staircase. The ceremony was held on Milk’s birthday, May 22nd, in 2008. The sculpture, too, became the first-ever depiction of an openly gay elected official permanently placed in a civic institution.

Thanks to the event’s success, we were able to make a generous donation supporting the commission of the sculpture. And now, every time I see it, my heart gets warm, and I am grateful to my community for its support in helping to make it happen.

Fast forward 13 years, and I’m now on the Honorary Committee of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza with local politicians, celebrities, artists, and champions. The yet-constructed memorial plaza will be at the iconic intersection of Castro and Market streets. The plaza will provide a platform for future activism while commemorating Milk as a visionary civil and human rights activist. (You can see the design process, concept, and vision at the Memorial for Harvey Milk Plaza website.)

As local businesses continue to struggle across the country, we’ve seen that LGBTQI+ neighborhoods have been hit hard. 2019 was especially devastating for the Castro District in San Francisco, largely attributed to rising rents and ongoing gentrification. While many small businesses hung on, some were forced out due to those very reasons mentioned before. Then we move into 2020 — and the entire world gets hit with a devastating pandemic, causing small local queer businesses to do everything they can to stay afloat. 2023 has seen glimmers of hope that this devastation isn’t forever and that San Francisco (and the Castro, for that matter), can and will recover.

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The Castro is where Milk settled and opened his store, Castro Camera, in 1972. He gained community support which enabled him to become the first openly gay person elected to public office in California.

So, bringing a new heightened purpose for the memorial is as essential now as it has ever been before. It’s a chance to continue allowing people to be seen; to be heard; to have the chance to participate in creating the change they want to see in the world.

The plaza, despite its current unassuming presence, is a gathering place for the community to celebrate, dance, protest, and mourn. It has been a public soapbox, allowing anyone in our community the platform to share their voices — including myself.

In 2017, with the help of community leaders, I helped create the “Come Together — Rally & March for Equality,” where we gathered peacefully at the plaza to promote inclusivity and love — calling out the ongoing fascist rhetoric from President 45. Thousands attended this event which is a great example of why the redesign is so important in continuing these conversations and acts of activism.

I reached out to fellow Committee member Sister Roma, The Most Photographed Nun in the World, and asked how she felt about the new design.

“I’m proud to serve on the Honorary Committee of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, and 100% support their plans to create a beautiful, safe, accessible gathering space honoring ‘The Mayor of Castro Street,’” she said. “The significance of Harvey’s legacy is undeniable, and he deserves a reimagined community plaza that will serve as a beacon to our global LGBTQI+ family.”

I couldn’t agree with her more.

There is an exciting vision for the Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza, and I greatly appreciate the Board reaching out to me for support — along with the entire community. They want the plaza to reflect the hopes of all members of the local, national, and international communities.

Their mission is to reimagine Harvey Milk Plaza as a welcoming, vibrant space that honors Harvey’s life and legacy celebrates his enduring importance to the LGBTQ+ community, and continues to offer inspiration by acting as a beacon of hope to marginalized groups and communities around the world.