On Sunday May 20, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Stuart Milk, coâ€founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of Harvey Milk, will honor the late activist Harvey Milk by hosting the 3rd Annual Harvey Milk Day of Service at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.
Mayor Villaraigosa pledged to hold a day of service every year to commemorate Harvey Milk and his legacy of community engagement, service, and he urges his fellow Angelenos to join him in giving back each year on this day.
“I am proud to recognize Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles with the Harvey Milk Foundation Honors Award,†said Stuart Milk. “Mayor Villaraigosa continues to demonstrate outstanding leadership in supporting equal rights, hosting the annual Harvey Milk Day of Service and delivering Harvey Milk-style hope to diverse communities.â€
This year on Harvey Milk Day, Mayor Villaraigosa’s “We Serve LA†volunteer and service initiative, Gay for Good, Enrich LA, FAIR, Latino Equality Alliance, UCLA Family Commons, Wilshire Center Business Improvement District, principals, teachers and students from the Los Angeles Unified School District, community members, and LGBT organizations will work together on several service projects at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. Volunteers will paint commemorative canvas murals, build two sets of edible produce gardens to be used in educating parents and students alike about nutrition and sustainability, and complete a campus wide clean up.
Throughout his life, Milk worked to find common ground with others, and he initiated programs that benefited underserved and minority communities, workers and the elderly. He was also the driving force behind the passage of a gay rights law that prohibited discrimination and/or unequal treatment on the basis of sexual orientation in housing and employment.
The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools is a Kâ€12 campus serving up to 4000 students in six pilot schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Located on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, the campus was built to relieve underperforming and overcrowded schools in the historically underserved neighborhoods of Picoâ€Union and Koreatown. Students receive rigorous and personalized instruction that embodies the social justice legacy of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The 24â€acre campus includes the Cocoanut Grove Theater, the Paul Schrade Library, and public art installations designed by Judith Baca.