First, a history lesson: In 1977, a year before his death, Harvey Milk (the country’s first openly gay elected politician) sponsored a landmark LGBTQ civil rights bill. Mayor George Moscone signed that bill into law with a lavender pen that Milk gifted to him.
In honor of that purple pen, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus—its first public appearance was at Milk’s candlelit vigil—kicks off its 40th season this October with a two-week tour through Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and more of the country’s reddest states. Dubbed the Lavender Pen Tour, it will see the ensemble use uplifting music to instill hope in Southern LGBTQ communities as well as educate people who may be less accepting of gay culture.