Orlando Fresh from a history-making trip to Eastern Europe, activist Stuart Milk will address the status of LGBT equality throughout the world at a Sept. 10 forum at Rollins College. He will also discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Russian officials have said they will enforce a recently enacted law banning LGBT “propaganda.”
Milk just returned from Lithuania, where he experienced the homophobia that still permeates much of Eastern Europe. He gave the keynote address at the European Union Human Rights Conference. He was also the first speaker to address LGBT rights at a full session of the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius.
On July 27, while leading the first Baltic Pride parade and rally in three years, Milk was pelted with eggs while police held back protestors screaming obscenities.
“They can throw eggs. For my Uncle Harvey, they threw bullets,” Milk told the crowd in Vilnius. “They can threaten the messenger, but they will never kill the message: We are all equal.”
Milk is the nephew of LGBT icon Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to prominent public office. Harvey Milk was murdered in San Francisco in 1978, and the tragedy served as a catalyst for the modern day LGBT rights movement.
It also obliterated the “closet door” for his gay nephew, Stuart. Already a respected consultant on workplace issues, Milk began speaking publicly on LGBT issues in the 1980s. He has since traveled the world, meeting with public officials, addressing governments and connecting with LGBT communities in friendly and hostile nations.
Milk has spoken before the United Kingdom House of Lords, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Panamanian National Assembly and the Turkish Great Assembly. He is also a featured columnist for the Huffington Post, and is a frequent guest on broadcast television in this and other countries.
In 2009 Milk accepted the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, on behalf of his uncle. At the White House ceremony he forged a relationship with President Barack Obama, and spoke on his behalf throughout the 2012 presidential campaign.
Milk also met Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who encouraged him to continue his uncle’s mission of universal equality. In 2011 he co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation, which spearheaded the creation of Harvey Milk Day in California as well as numerous events worldwide.
Milk has been a frequent visitor to Orlando, addressing gatherings hosted by Equality Florida and The Center. In 2009 he served as Grand Marshal for Come Out With Pride.
Most recently, he has spoken out against the boycott of vodkas like Stolichnaya to protest Russia’s ban on LGBT advocacy.
“Stoli is made in Latvia,” Milk noted. “A boycott will not hurt Russia, it will hurt Latvia’s fragile LGBT community.”
The boycott spotlights the complexities of challenging Russia’s homophobic policies at the Winter Olympics in February.
At Rollins, expect Milk to share the passion for equality he conveyed at Baltic Pride.
“If you are an LGBT organization, from Vilnius to Damascus, you are never alone,” he said. “The world is with you, and in time equality will be everywhere, and for everyone. And we will look back and say, ‘We are history, and we made it happen.'”
“Challenges to LGBT Equality Around the Globe” is presented by the Rollins College Office of Multicultural Affairs. The event takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Winter Park Plaza building, 330 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park. Doors open at 6 p.m., and refreshments will be served after the event.
