During National Student Pride weekend, Harvey Milk's nephew spoke out about how his uncle helped him come to terms with his sexuality. He also advised LGBT people to come out of the closet, and agreed that the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, needs to do more for LGBT youth.

Stuart Milk
Photo by National Student Pride

At the National Student Pride screening of ‘Milk’, Harvey Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk spoke exclusively about how his uncle helped him come to terms with his sexuality and reinforced the importance of coming out.  “Harvey knew that I was gay. He never went there with me, but he talked to me about feeling different.”

He spoke of a touching moment during his childhood when Harvey Milk gifted him a book inscribed with one of the personal messages of hope he became known for. “He gave me a book of Native American traditions called ‘Seven Arrows’. Inside the cover he wrote ‘you and all your differences will heal the world, even when the world doesn’t recognise that’”.

It was this support that has led to Stuart Milk, LGBT Human Rights Activist, calling for LGBT people to come out and fight for true acceptance, not just tolerance.

“We try and do away with the word tolerance. It’s really a bad term. Nobody wants to be tolerated. I tolerate mosquitos. We should be celebrated and we should be embraced.”

“Coming out is the most important thing that you can do in terms of activism. If you are an ally, encouraging LGBT friends to be visible is the most political thing you can do. “

Referring to Will Young’s criticism of Nicky Morgan during a National Student Pride mental health panel, Stuart Milk said it was right to hold the Education Secretary to account. “You’ve got to call people out if they are not doing enough. I agree with Will Young, people should be asking what they are doing to help.”

Photo by National Student Pride

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