SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Harvey Milk helped change the world when it came to gay rights. Now his legacy is being honored at the Harvey Milk Terminal at San Francisco International Airport.
It’s a moment his colleagues could’ve never imagined.
For some, the name Harvey Milk doesn’t ring a bell.
“This is my first time that I’ve heard this and it’s my first time here, in San Francisco,” said SFO traveler Abdul Obidullah.
Travelers like Obidullah say they got an unexpected history lesson at the Harvey Milk Terminal. In 1977, Milk became the first openly gay man elected to public office by winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors just a year before his assassination.
These enlightening moments are special for gay rights activist Allen Klein who worked with Milk in the 1970s.
“A terminal at San Francisco airport named after him is kind of amazing,” said Klein.
The photos on the terminal wall show Klein’s friends protesting during the 1970s. He still remembers when Milk asked for his help almost 50 years ago.
“He called me up and he said, ‘You had such a successful benefit against Anita Bryant. Let’s do one to raise money to fight the Briggs Initiative,’ which he helped defeat,” Klein remembered.
Klein said the Castro in those days was a place of community where everyone knew your name. While Harvey Milk was a politician, he was also a person.
“You could talk to him,” Klein said. “It wasn’t like he was on a pedestal.”
But he was on a soap box, fighting for gay rights, a reality he’d never live to see. The SFO terminal is just a small glimpse of what Klein said they fought for.
KRON4’s Pride Special will air at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26.
