Harvey Milk Is the Latest Hero to Have His Face Appear on a Norwegian Airplane Tail
Former San Francisco city supervisor and LGBTQ civil rights hero Harvey Milk was unveiled today as the eighth American to be immortalized with his face on a Norwegian aircraft. The popular low-cost international airline announced the Harvey Milk plane this morning in a press release.
“Norwegian was founded on the premise of bringing affordable fares to all. As we continue to grow, our message of inclusion is beyond just that of affordable fares, it is unifying customers, employees, and business partners from all over the world who share our vision of diversity,” says Bjørn Kjos, Founder and CEO of Norwegian. “Like ours, Harvey Milk’s mission was reflective of a pioneering spirit. He demonstrated a tireless hunger to look past the differences of people and instead focus on bringing them together for the greater good. We can’t think of a better way to honor Harvey Milk’s bravery and courage than to dedicate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to his legacy of equal rights — a tribute that will span the globe for years to come, reinforcing our joint commitment to making the world a smaller, friendlier and more inclusive place.”
The world’s very first openly gay politician to be elected into office, Harvey Milk was instrumental as a voice for San Francisco’s LGBTQ community, and in 1977 he was elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors. He’s a shining example of living one’s truth, and he continues to offer hope to marginalized communities the world over.
Though he was assassinated on the night of Nov. 27, 1978, the legacy of Harvey Milk lives on — in award-winning films, books, a San Francisco airport terminal and elementary school, through the hard-won fights of activists everywhere and, now, through Norwegian’s new Harvey Milk plane.
Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk and co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, said of the Harvey Milk plane’s unveiling, “We are proud to partner with Norwegian, having Uncle Harvey join the airline’s forward-thinking Tail Fin Hero program that already includes change makers like Sojourner Truth and Oscar Wilde. This is such a unique way to educate and celebrate those that have come before us, allowing for their legacies to live on. We look forward to seeing Harvey ‘flying’ into airports across the globe and continuing to spread his message of acceptance.”
The Harvey Milk plane is a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and will be delivered to Norwegian at the end of this month.
