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San Francisco, CA — About 1,000 people marked the 25th anniversary of the assassination of the first openly gay politician to be elected in a major city Sunday night. 

Harvey Milk was gunned down along with Mayor George Moscone by former Supervisor Dan White in a city hall office November 27, 1978.

Milk's assassination was a catalyst in the gay rights movement.

Among those who attended the candlelight vigil were Milk's nephew, Stuart Milk, and Moscone's widow and other members of her family.

Stuart Milk, who is gay, traveled from his Florida home to attend the vigil.

"This is something I have always wanted to do,' Milk told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

"This is one of the most significant statements a community has ever made. ... It's a continuation of everything my uncle ever stood for.'

Children from the Harvey Milk and George Moscone elementary schools marched in the procession, along side young adults who only knew of Milk and Moscone through reading about the events, and people who knew and worked with both politicians. 

"Like Martin Luther King Day nationally, locally this is a day we mark to keep it in mind," said Frederic Knapp, 49, of San Francisco as the vigil marched through the Castro. 

Earlier in the day, people gathered at the Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco for an art festival. 

"We want to keep their memories alive," said Tommi Avicolli Mecca, who organized the event. "This is a city of artists. What better way to honor these leaders than to pull our city of artists together?"

by Mark Worrall
365Gay.com Newscenter
San Francisco Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2003
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.

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