San Francisco, California, May 17, 2008, – The statue of San Francisco's first Gay Supervisor Harvey Milk will be unveiled during a gala party at San Francisco's City Hall on Thursday, May 22, 2008.

The project to place the memorial to Milk in City Hall is a joint undertaking between the Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee and the San Francisco Arts Commission. It is the first such public/private partnership of its kind. The effort began in 2003 when the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution supporting the creation of such a Memorial to Milk.

Harvey Milk advanced the struggle for LGBT rights by becoming one of the first openly Gay elected officials in the United States, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Less than a year after taking office he was assassinated by a homophobic political opponent. The unveiling of this Memorial, in the very building where he served and lost his life, will again make history; it will be the first such tribute to an LGBT leader to be placed in a seat of government in the United States.

The statue of Milk will be unveiled at a Ceremony to be held in City Hall on May 22, 2008, on what would have been Harvey's 78th birthday. The event starts at 6 PM, is free and open to the public, and will feature friends of Milk’s, local dignitaries, the Gay Men’s chorus, and special guests. For more information please contact Rick Hauptman at RickHauptman [at] yahoo.com

http://www.milkmemorial.org