On Harvey Milk Day 2024, Long Beach City College raised the pride flag at both the Liberal Arts Campus and the Pacific Coast Campus in celebration of Harvey Milk and the upcoming pride month.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician who was elected into public office in 1977 in San Francisco, California.
Milk’s victory paved the way for more recognition and love for the LGBTQ+ community as well as other minority communities in the country.
LBCC recognized Milk and showed massive love and support for the LGBTQ+ community as Superintendent-President Mike Munoz, Vice President Virginia Baxter and student activities advisor Kim Hamon raised the flag on the pole next to the T Building of the Liberal Arts Campus.
Before the raising of the flag, all three of them spoke on the stage, showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community, and summarized how the college is a safe place for all students regardless of their sexual identity.
“This is symbolic for me because we know that he led the fight against the Briggs Act, which was a proposed piece of state law that, if passed, I wouldn’t be able to serve as a public employee in a school,” LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Munoz said, regarding him being in the LGBTQ+ community.
The city of Long Beach is continuously prepping and even pre-celebrating pride with the upcoming pride month.
The Long Beach pride parade took place this past weekend, and LBCC added to the fun and support by raising the pride flag at its campuses.
While people may disagree with LGBTQ+-related topics and the different celebration events taking place, Long Beach is known for being a diverse city showing love to all communities.
With Harvey Milk Day being a national day in California, other cities and counties are also participating in activities that show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Cities such as his political town of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Sacramento, etc., are all holding pride parades and events, and this wouldn’t have been possible without Harvey Milk being a key figure in California.
Milk was one of the main driving forces for the gay rights movement; being born in Woodmere, New York, his influence was present not only in California but all around the country.
“When he was alive, he was an incredible person and very dynamic. He was not from California, he was from the East Coast. He came to California and really made a difference and became a lawmaker on how gay and lesbian people are treated. So this is an honor to raise the flag on his special day,” Baxter said.