he's in an elected position in my office. and senator scott wiener. i do want to thank everyone for coming to acknowledge this, and i want to thank mathy athew an kira who made special efforts for this event. as we mark the 40th anniversary in what must have been one of the darkest days in san francisco's history, i hope you will join all of us in celebrate the tremendous lives and lasting legacy of two of this city's greatest leaders. throughout history, san francisco has shown a tenacity to be able to rebuild time and time again, stronger than before. we are a phoenix, rising from the ashes. the legacy that george mass

coney and harvey milk left behind is a better san francisco, a city that's defined by its economic values, its diversity and inclusion. mayor breed described empowering leaders from neighborhood, women, people of color, and lgbt. moscone's embrace of diversity in san francisco city government has endured, and today, our city is led by a strong african american woman mayor -- yes, that's worthy of applause. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: we are the city that leads the resistance and a board of

supervisors that is majority female who is led by a president who is another strong african american woman, and that also -- and there she is. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: malia cohen, everyone, and hillary ronen, and we do have assembly man david chiu. and it's aaron peskin from district three, thank you, and kathr kathrin stefani, and carmen chu, and joanne hayes-white is here, and. >> president cohen: we now have a coquorum. >> supervisor mandelman: we know have a quorum, and we're in violation of the brown act, and we're now going to jail. in 1978, harvey milk said his election would give people two

new options. move to san francisco was one or stay and fight, and they did both. and a few weeks ago, we had this great, wonderful blue wave that we're all still sort of basking in. but part of that blue wave was 150 out lgbtq people who were elected to positions around this country and that is worthy of some applause. i -- we're all revealing our ages here. i was five years old when harvey milk and george moscone were killed. i don't remember that moment, but i learned about them as i grew older, and learned about them at a time before i knew i was a day man. but i became -- i was proud of them as a san franciscan, and so before i even knew to be proud of myself, i was proud of these two men and what they had done. it's a tremendous honor to hold

the same seat on the board of supervisors that harvey milk held, and i know that i know not only him but the entire succession of lgbtq people that have served so strongly on that board, tom am i don't knowy, susan leal, mark katz, david campos, scat wiener, cristina olagui, and jeff sheehy -- applause for them all. but even more for the countless activists upon whose shoulders they stood. the work these heros did following harvey's death through krifg rights struggles and battling an epidemic that would take many of them from us far too early created opportunities for young people that did not exist when i was born in 1973. of course we are reminded daily that we cannot take that progress for granted. i'm keenly aware that i'm the

only lgbtq person on the board of supervisors, marking the first time in decades that our representation on this body is that low. i'm also keenly aware that there is tremendous prejudice facing our community and its more vulnerable members emanating from washington, d.c., but even right in san francisco, here as in the rest of the country, the transgender community continues to face disproportionate and unacceptably high levels of violence, unemployment and homelessness. one-third of our homeless population identifies as lgbtq and half the people living on the streets are queer. as lgbtq continue to be priced out of neighborhood like soma, and the tenderloin, it alienates our power and takes them from the communities and neighborhoods that can support them. fortunately, harvey milk and

george moscone left us with a road map, one uniting the lgbtq communities, fighting like hell, and never giving up until we win. so thank you, harvey and george. can we have -- [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: you know, thank you, alex randall. thank you for supporting your gay sister. now i think we were going to hear from mayor brown -- he's here. he's arrived. there's a wonderful documentary that was just -- that's recently come out about george moscone and his life, and it is amazing to think of these two men at hastings, young before they had accomplished all that they would. but -- hello. but mayor brown is speaking after me. i'm introducing you. i'm out of the way.

[inaudible] [laughte [laughter]. >> mayor breed, and other local elected officials that are here, it was so many years ago that things happened in this city hall that should not happen in any city hall, if not any public building in this nation. two sterling examples of people who have been elected to public office, who earned the election by demonstrating in every fashion how their existence

stood out as a mark and a guideline for the future, an optimistic future for everybody. unfortunately, their lives were shortened. this city will never be the same because we always are forced to remember, are forced to recall that dreadful day when a former elected official did something so despicable, so destructive to so many, so destructive to so many families for which they could never be forgiven. thank you, mayor breed, aaron

peskin, for reminding me that on this occasion, each of us ought to pause as i suspect before you do when you say a prayer at night. it causes you to remember something significant. each of us should recall forever so that our conduct never again in any fashion causes anybody under any circumstance to do what was done and to whom it was done. my friend, george moscone, a student at hastings school of law, a fellow janitor of that facility became a mayor of this city.

he was really the forerunner to almost everything that has happened in this city since his election, including the election of the first black woman as mayor of this city, and for sure, the first black man who was ever mayor of this city. george moscone's politics inspired all of us. george moscone's politics led all of us. when i heard the word progressive, it wasn't used to describe george moscone, but i can assure you, every single thing that has happened under the name of progressives came out of the heart and soul of what george moscone really stood for and demonstrated in his capacity as the mayor of this city. harvey milk, and in all the things that people say now

about how credibly mature this nation has become with reference to choices that people may or whom they may love, harvey milk, the symbol of all that was achieved in this day and age on that question. and so when we as a city pause, we really should pause and frankly rejoice, two great people gave their lives to the -- so the rest of us could live in greater freedoms. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you, mayor brown, for those inspiring words. and with that, i'd like to introduce jonathan moscone, the son of mayor george moscone.

>> hi. last time i was up here speaking, i got married to my husband, darryl carbonaro's around here somewhere, and willie brown made it possible. 40 years ago, san francisco lost its mayor, george moscone, and we lost our father. you know while i somewhat keep ourselves in the public eye, our family has remained private, opting instead to remember my dad, my mom's husband, as exactly that, dad and husband. we haven't forgotten who -- what he did for this state and this city, but he's the man who

taught yus pedro and took us t the movies and to the theater, and whom we didn't see enough of when he was alive and whom he we'd give anything just to see again. five years ago on this very date, i spoke, as i'm speaking now, and i vowed that our family would never again mourn in public the death of our father. instead, we'd celebrate only his life. that life, which lasted 49 years, zero months, and three days, but who's counting, far outweighs the instance of the flash of time that took him away from us, from all of us. so when i was asked to speak today, of course i said yes because i love to speak. but on this anniversary of that one flash of an instant, i

really said that i wouldn't want to if we don't pledge to not mourn the past, but instead look to the legacy of the future. the death of my dad and of harvey is not tragedy, but as opportunity. when i look at willie brown, mayor breed, and honey mahogany, i see the best of our past, our present, and our future. the honor paid to my father is more than a mere honor. his legacy lives in the continued fight to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice, and in the struggle to ensure that our city keeps its promise of inclusion and opportunity for all of its people. i am grateful to rafael

mandelman and tom temprano, and everyone in their office and everyone at city hall who made today possible and who along with so many community leaders fight for an equitiable future where regardless of race, gender identity, culture, class or aspiration can thrive. that's san francisco, and i believe my dad would have felt the same. thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, jonathan. we truly appreciate the work that you continue to do in your father's honor by supporting and advocating so fiercely for the arts community, and we know that he would have been proud. thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: next, i'd like to bring up an

incredible person who is well known and well respected all over the country for his work in advocacy, and what he has represented in terms of carrying on the legacy of harvey milk. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome cleve jones. [applause] >> well, first of all, mayor, i want to thank you for inviting us here today. several of us from the lgbtq community spent yesterday, a significant amount of time on the picket line at the marriott marquis. and i know that all of the workers there are extremely grateful of your support in this struggle which is i believe entering the 55th day of the workers on strike against this very powerful corporation. i think that was an appropriate way to honor the work of harvey

milk and george moscone, two men who unds the importance of fighting for the people, and for all the immigrant born, gray and straight, black, brown, and white, that was what harvey and george stood for. i've been looking through the photographs and the news coverage, and i'm overwhelmed with memory of your father. just the incredible joy and charisma. as someone who was 64 years old and arrived in this city when it was still a felony to sleep with the person that you love the most, i want to thank you again, willie brown, for your work with george moscone to decriminalize us. and people forget, and sometimes i say to young people, you know, it used to be it was a crime just to be gay. and they say you're kp

exaggerating. and i say there were two men, willie brown, and george moscone, and because of them, we no longer went to prison for loving people of the same sex. so thank you. [applause] >> now, you know, when i met harvey, i was just this idiot street kid, and he got me to cut my hair and go to city college, and i enrolled in the film department, and i made a little super 8 movie. remember super 8, and he took me aside and said you have no talent at all. you need to change your major, and so i enrolled in the police science department at san francisco state, and got an internship working for harvey, and that was part of the deal. he said you go back to school, and i'll bring you back to city hall.

i said you better get elected first. you lost several times. danny nicoletto went through several of those campaigns with harvey. danny, i'm glad you're here. but he brought me in, and i was here 40 years ago. i was here because annie kronenberg had to go to seattle to be with her family, and i wanted to show harvey that i was going to be diligent. i got here, and it turns out i left a file in my apartment that he wanted. and he was annoyed, and he sent me back to castro street. i was crestfallen, and he said it's okay. i just need the file. i went and stopped at the local cafe that was being picketed by people from local 22. i was waiting inform are a bus, and somebody leaned out the window and says cleve, somebody shot the mayor.

i couldn't imagine who would want to harm george moscone. i got a taxi, and i got in on the vanness side. i ran up stairs, and it's been reconfigured since the earthquake. i had a key to the passage from the chambers in. i just ran in shouting harvey, harvey, and turned the corner and saw his feet sticking out into the hallway. you know, he only had one pair of dress shoes, an old pair of secondhand wingtips. i was only 24. i'd never seen a dead person before. it was so who ahorrifying, andi could think to myself was it's all over now. how could we move forward? he was such a leader, he was so important in my life. and we're trapped, and they're moving out the bodies, and all ai can think of is it's over, it's over, it's over. then, the sun went down, and people began to gather on

castro street, like we're going to do tonight, and we lit our candles, and we marched down, and many of you were here, and we filled this entire plaza with the light of our candles, and i knew right there i was wrong. it was not over, it was just beginning. and harvey's and george's legacy continues. we see it in the faces of the city that represent us in city government today, we see it in the resistance to donald trump and everything that he represents. it's not over. those two men taught us how to fight, love each other, depeid fend each other -- defend each other, and hold onto what makes this city so special. i stood up on that balcony and watched as this entire city filed through this lobby here and showed how much they love

those men and it's amazing how we can still love them today and be so grateful for what they gave us. so thank you for allowing me to be here again, mayor breed. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: wow. thank you so much. very powerful. and now, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce someone who has been an incredible at r incredible advocate for harvey milk in san francisco and all over the country, his nephew, stewart milk. >> thank you. [applause] >> this is a very difficult day. i haven't talked a lot about

what the loss of harvey meant to me, and i do want to share that he was the only person in my life who accepted me, who i could say anything to, and he found some brilliance in that. so it is a very difficult day for me from a personal perspective. i didn't have the relationship with my father that i did with harvey. i didn't have the relationship in my life with anyone. when i told my mother that i felt different, she said you'll outgrow that. harvey said that's brilliant. and for a 12-year-old in a homophobe environment on long island, to be asked what happened today that was different that made you feel different from everyone else, i said i don't want to talk about it. he said that's amazing. think about the power that that

gives you, yourself r your difference, the fact that you see things difference. he wrote in a book that he gave me, you and your districtness is the medicine that will heal the work, even though the world doesn't recognize that. so i lost my touch stone, and i lost the color in my life. i was 17 years old and in college. this was the man who brought me, introduced me to the color of life in manhattan. he took me to the premier of jesus christ superstar and introduced me to jesus christ and judah and madeleine back stage. he said, who do you want to meet? i said, king herrod. he said well, he's not out of

costume. i want to thank mayor london breed and supervisor rafael mandelman. you know what? i have to say a word. when i first met rafael, he was president of the milk club, and he told me he was going to be supervisor. and the first time i communicated with a young lady named london breed was on facebook. we used to say happy birthday, and it's just so amazing that we have -- incredible that we have these amazing figures. the first time with the moscone family was at the 20th anniversary with rebecca and gina. it was freezing cold, and we had it at the park, and the only warmth i felt that night was that i believed that i had some comfort to know that george and harvey left this world together, and that gave

me some incredible warmth. 1978, mayor breed already mentioned it. first asian american supervisor, first african american woman supervisor, first lgbt supervisor. the reason that we had all of that was due to the inclusion and the tremendous on-the-ground and compassionate work that mayor moscone led in this city. that has led us to today where we have an african american mayor, an african american woman leading us, and our board of supervisors. do you know how much that says to the world? in days where people are being shot because they're walking the streets, and they have a

different color than the majority in that town -- do you know how much that means not just in san francisco but around the world? as mayor brown said, we lost two extraordinary individuals when we lost harvey and we lost george. and the truth is they were extraordinary. they were extraordinary, and they believed we were all extraordinary. they didn't believe there was such thing as ordinary people. they believed we all had a passion and purpose in life, and that we need to be given all of the possibilities to fulfill that passion and purpose, regardless of the color of our skin, regardless of our ethnic background, regardless of our religion, regardless of whether we were an immigrant, regardless of who we loved.

they all believes we all had tremendous potential, extraordinary potential to give the world. so on behalf of the milk family, i want to thank san francisco. at a time when we have an executive at the helm of this country who has no moral compass. has no sense of humanity, who is doing unspeakable acts of inhumanity. in fact i'm leaving here tomorrow to do -- to work with stakeholders at the u.n. to protest the united states pulling out of the human rights council of the human rights commission. can you imagine that? so thank you, san francisco, for reminding us of the hope that my uncle wanted us to continue on with his words.

let the bullets who smash through my brain smash through every door. let it smash the message, and that message is not just for lgbt, that's for anyone. anyone who's not being given their human rights, that's for anyone who's being diminished in any way by society. your differences, what makes you district is the medicine that heals the work. and we in san francisco, you in san francisco are reminding the world those differences are the gift. thank you very much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you. what an honor to have so many amazing speakers with the stories and the inspiration, and i am really honored to represent an amazing city filled with so many incredible people.

and here to speak at this time, i'd like to introduce the cochair of the harvey milk democratic club, honey mahogany. [applause] >> i want to say a special thank you to the family of harvey milk and george moscone, especially jonathan moscone. thank you so much for inviting me to speak here today. it's a real privilege to speak amongst such incredible leaders, visionaries and public servants of san francisco. today, we are here to honor the legacy of two great leaders: george moscone and harvey milk. while their deaths were premature, they live on in the movement they established and continue to inspire. george moscone was our first mayor to ensure that the diversity of our city was reflected in city hall. he appointed people of color, days and le -- gays and

lesbians and women and people of color in numbers never seen before. as a proud could president of the harvey milk lgbtq democratic club, i am thrilled to see this legacy thrive and this movement continue to build momentum. as a club, we were founded on the idea that queer people needed to organize for our collective interests and safety. we were tired of seeing our community overlooked and abused by the city and its institutions, institutions we we helped to build and fund and that were supposed to protect us. we demanded that our value, our citizenships, and our humanity be recognized. but change happened slowly. while we have made progress over the last several decades, in many ways, the same o

oppressive systems, though weakened, still exist. as we push forward, oppression pushes back. we see this in our most vulnerable communities who always end up serving as scapegoats. we see this in the transgender community, including being able to serve in the military, being denied to use the rest room, being denied service and even attempting to deny us the right to exist. we see this in the despicable attacks on immigrants through the introduction of unconstitutional legislation and most recently through state sanctioned violence at our border. we see this in the way that we treat women. how women's voices are seldom heard unless they are echoed by a man's, how their leadership is relentlessly undermined. how we continue to hold women to a double or triple standard, constantly raising the bar for

women and ridiculing those who dare to suck said. it may seem that not much has changed over the yaerears, but that's not true. progress has been made, and more importantly, i believe we now know who it is that we have to do. the harvey milk lgbtq democratic club has made it a priority to uplift the voices of all opressed candidates. we endorsed janice lee who was recently elected to the b.a.r.t. board, who was the currently the only elected queer woman of color to the b.a.r.t. board.

gabrielle lopez's win in particular shows the power of success through grassroots mobilization. her campaign was rooted in community support without much help from the establishment, and yet, she won with the second most votes in the race, making her the first bilingual latinx person on the school board in over 20 years. [applause] >> the milk club's endorsed candidates won in every supervisorial race this year. we also helped to pass important propositions like prop e which will preserve the legacy of arts and culture in san francisco, helping to fund equity based arts initiatives, and the vital work of cultural districts. we helped to ensure the passage of prop c because risk is our

city. it is our home and we the people as well as the business s and corporations have a duty to fulfill to all of our residents. [applause] >> continuing in the legacy of george moscone and harvey milk, it is time to usher in an era of social integrity and responsibility. it's time we prioritized serving the under served, helping those most in need, and upholding what is good and what is just. when we advocate for the protection of immigrants, when we call for the criminal justice reform and an end to police abuse and corruption, when we demand that multibillion-dollar corporations pay their fair share in taxes to pollutions that they helped to create, when we call out those who have

let us down, we honor those who have come before us, walking in their footprints and carrying their legacy. my deepest, deepest thanks to george moscone and harvey milk. for all that you have laid the groundwo groundwork for us and to inspire us to keep fighting, we will press on in your memory. thank you. [applause] >> and i hope you will all join us at the candlelight vigil in the castro tonight at 7:00 p.m. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. and our last speaker for this afternoon will be our state senator, scott wiener. >> thank you, madam mayor. i want to thank the mayor and supervisor mandelman for organizing this today. oh, she left. i was going to congratulate supervisor stefani on her

election, as well. i was eight years old when mayor moscone and supervisor milk was assassinated, and i remember my parents talking about this horrible thing that wasn't supposed to happen in the united states of america in terms of that kind of political assas assassination. i was a young little gay kid, obviously, not out of the closet, but i knew there was something special about what happened in san francisco. when you look at mayor moscone who sort of ushered in the modern era of san francisco. when we think of what is san francisco, george moscone played a critical role in allowing that to happen and allowing everyone to blue cross

cross -- blossom in this city. when you look at what happened in this city in the last couple of city, especially around hiv/aids, what harvey milk did, he didn't just give this community hope, he in many ways helped teach this community and helped us understand that we have the strength to survive and thrive, that we don't have to always rely on other people to bring us up, that we are able to pull ourselves up, and without the hope and the strength that harvey milk helped create, i don't know if things might have gone a little differently with hiv/aids. when you look at the carnage that happened in this community, but the strength of this community was able to make it through. not everyone made it through, but we're still here as a community after everything that has happened, and harvey played such a key role in creating the atmosphere in the lgbt

community to allow that to happen. the other thing that harvey did was he made clear that we needed our own seat at the table, that allies are fantastic. we can't do anything without allies, and we have a lot of allies who fight for our community standing behind me here today. but we have to be at the table, as well. and we can't take that for granted. i think sometimes in san francisco, we take for granted that we will always have lgbtq elected officials, and as rafael mentioned, having one member of the board of supervisors from our community, that hasn't happened for a long time. and so we have to keep being very intentional in making sure that we are cultivating and identifying and lifting up young lgbt leaders to be the next generation because it can slip away very, very easily. so thank you harvey, thank you, george, and let's remember, and let's celebrate.

thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: i want to thank each and every one of you for being here today to celebrate the life and the legacy of mayor george moscone and supervisor harvey milk. thank you so much to all the elected leaders who are here today, as well as members of the family, and we hope to see each and every one of you tonight at the candlelight vigil in the castro at 7:00 p.m. thank you, and have a wonderful day.

>> well, thank you all. we are going to start. welcome to the bristol hotel. my name is randy shaw. i'm the director of the tenderloin housing clinic. see, i wasn't -- see, i thought, i didn't prepare remarks. why don't we keep people moving in the door here. thank you all for coming. it's really a special day because the bristol is a special property. i don't know that a private bath hotel that would be for lease for formerly homeless people, and the bristol hotel, i would say half of these rooms are bigger than any of our 21