On June 24, queer socialists lost a pioneer — Harry Britt passed away in San Francisco at the age of eighty-two, following two years of declining health. A founding member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and a gay socialist, Harry succeeded Harvey Milk on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors following his assassination in 1979. Harry embraced his identity as a gay socialist. In response to one reporter’s question about how the media portrayed him, Harry was unapologetic: “That’s what I am.”

Harry, a former minister, had a profound rage for justice. Much of his fire was directed at the timidity of liberals on issues of economic justice like rent control, limiting downtown development, guaranteeing health care, taxing the rich, and winning real equality for LGBT workers. He led fights to restrict rent increases and preserve low-income housing, and he was a key leader in making renters an organized force in city politics.

His most ambitious efforts, like preventing unlimited rent hikes when apartments became vacant and placing caps on the amount of office space that could be built in the financial district, were vetoed by the mayor who appointed him, now-senator Dianne Feinstein. Along with neighborhood activists, tenant rights organizers, communities of color, seniors, and the disabled, he built coalitions with labor unions and Lebanese grocers. The interests of workers were always the foundation of his politics.