During a ceremony yesterday, May 20, Long Beach City College (LBCC) celebrated Harvey Milk Day by raising the Pride flag for the first time in the college’s history.
Just over a week shy of Pride Month, Pride flags were raised at LBCC’s Pacific Coast Campus and Liberal Arts Campus. Both will remain until the end of June.
“To raise the Pride flag at LBCC is an opportunity for us to highlight an extraordinary leader — Harvey Milk — and to bring to light his story and his fight for equality,” said LBCC District Board of Trustees President Uduak-Joe Ntuk. “We want to make sure that we provide a safe space for all of our students to feel welcome and succeed academically.”
Every year, California celebrates May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a prominent gay activist. He worked to end discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, including his fight against the Briggs Initiative which banned gays and lesbians from working in California schools.
He was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the country as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the late 1970s. He served only 11 months as supervisor before he was assassinated.
Long Beach was the first city in the nation to name a park after Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk Promenade Park in the core of Downtown Long Beach was also the first park in the city to be named after an openly gay person.
“This flag is more than just a symbol,” said LBCC District Interim Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz. “It’s a visual sign to show that the LBCC community recognizes and includes all of our LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff. And as an openly gay man, this is a day that I personally celebrate as I would not be here working for an educational institution without the work of Harvey Milk.”
