Dustin Lance Black's Memorable Acceptance Speech for Milk

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One of the most memorable moments of the 2009 Oscars was the acceptance speech made by screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won for his work on "Milk." Black won for his screenplay for the biopic about the slain gay rights activist, a subject that clearly hit close to home.

In the speech, Black talked about the discrimination he felt as a young gay man.

Here is a transcript of a portion of the speech:

When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married.

I want to thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I am even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours.

Thank you. Thank you. And thank you God, for giving us Harvey Milk".

In addition to his work on "Milk," Black has also written for the TV series "Big Love." He has also written a screenplay based on the life of Pedro Zamora, the deceased gay activist who appeared on the MTV series The Real World.