LGBTQ+ Pride Month, also known simply as Pride Month, is held each June, an observation of queer culture through celebration and protest.
Click here to find how major cities are celebrating:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/01/pride-month-parades-2025/83880446007/
Irvine, California leaders raised the Progress Pride Flag in front of City Hall on Thursday, May 22, in honor of Harvey Milk Day and the city’s fourth annual Pride in Irvine event.
The flag will fly through the end of Pride month, June 30.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in California, serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1977 to 1978. Milk was assassinated in 1978 by a former colleague on the board.
From the Orange County Register
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/05/23/irvine-hoists-pride-flag-at-city-hall-in-honor-of-harvey-milk-day/
But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check.
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.
We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.
And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only.
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
Martin Luther King, Jr
August 28, 1963
The Respect for Marriage Act is more than just a legal safeguard; it’s a testament to the progress we've made as a society. It acknowledges the diverse fabric of relationships that enrich our communities while honoring the fundamental values of fairness and inclusivity. As we reflect on this milestone, we are reminded that the fight for equality is ongoing and that celebrating love in all its forms strengthens our shared humanity. This anniversary serves as both a moment of pride and a call to action, urging us to continue striving for a nation where everyone feels seen, valued, and protected.
Harvey Milk was an American politician and gay rights activist who became one of the most influential figures in the LGBTQ+ movement. He was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. Milk's early life was marked by his involvement in various professions, including teaching and working as a financial analyst on Wall Street.
In 1972, Harvey Milk relocated to San Francisco, where he became heavily involved in the city's burgeoning gay community. He opened a camera store in the city's Castro District, which served as a gathering place and became a focal point for the LGBTQ+ community.
Milk's political career began in the 1970s when he ran multiple times for public office, including a bid for the California State Assembly and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Although unsuccessful in his initial attempts, he gained popularity as a charismatic and passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
In 1977, Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, making history as the first openly gay elected official in California. His election was a significant milestone for the LGBTQ+ community, and he quickly became a symbol of hope and progress.
During his time in office, Milk worked tirelessly to champion civil rights and promote equality. He fought against discrimination, advocated for affordable housing, and campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. Milk's tenure was cut tragically short when he was assassinated on November 27, 1978, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by Dan White, a former city supervisor.
Milk's assassination sparked widespread shock and outrage, leading to a significant increase in activism for gay rights. His legacy as a pioneering LGBTQ+ politician and activist has endured, inspiring countless individuals to advocate for equality and fight against discrimination.
Harvey Milk's life and work have been celebrated in numerous ways. In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, and in 2008, a biographical film titled "Milk" was released, featuring Sean Penn in the role of Harvey Milk. Milk's life story continues to serve as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and the importance of representation in politics.
