Photographs memorializing former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone on the 43rd anniversary of their assassination were defaced on Wednesday.
The images were hung in the Castro District on November 27 by the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club as part of their "43rd Vigil of Remembrance," honoring the life and legacy of the two leaders on the anniversary of their tragic deaths.
The photos were defaced with large black graffiti on Dec. 1.
"We cannot imagine the disregard for humanity it takes to deface a memorial for leaders murdered in cold bold, and yet someone did," the club wrote in a statement, which they physically posted next to the photographs following the vandalizing. "We also couldn’t imagine the disregard for humanity to commit these murders in the first place, and yet someone did."
"Let this be a reminder to our self-stylized liberal, progressive, welcoming San Francisco: freedom is not a box to be checked, it's a constant struggle."
Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He became an icon for his leadership and advocacy for LGBTQ rights, helping spark the larger movement. He and former Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978 by former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.
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