Biography
1930 - 1978
“It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.”
- Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk, a U.S. Navy Veteran who served during the Korean War, was the first widely known and nationally recognized openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. In 1977 Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors thanks to a canny political combination of immigrant, elderly, minority, union and gay voter support. His vast grassroots based campaign and subsequent victory signaled a coming-of-age for San Francisco’s LGBT population. Affable and shrewd, politically adept and a skilled negotiator, Milk was destined to enjoy a bright future both within San Francisco’s political realm as well as on the national stage. But it was not to be. On November 27, 1978, a mere 11 months after taking office, Harvey Milk was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Disgruntled former City Supervisor Dan White was ultimately convicted, not of first-degree murder, but of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter – a verdict that triggered riots in the gay community. White served five years, only to commit suicide a year after his release from prison. Despite Milk’s short career in politics, he became an icon in San Francisco and "a martyr for gay rights" worldwide. Activist Cleve Jones observed “Though we tend to see our heroes as these mythic people, Harvey was an ordinary man, who faced challenges, defeats and humiliations like the rest of us …but he took the heart of San Francisco.” Anne Kronenberg, who managed Milk’s final campaign, wrote: "What set Harvey apart… was that he was a visionary. He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us." Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He remains the most famous openly gay person ever elected to office – an inspiration to the hundreds of men and women who can trace their own courageous forays into public service back to the historic election of Harvey Milk.
1930 - 1978
“It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.”
- Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk, a U.S. Navy Veteran who served during the Korean War, was the first widely known and nationally recognized openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. In 1977 Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors thanks to a canny political combination of immigrant, elderly, minority, union and gay voter support. His vast grassroots based campaign and subsequent victory signaled a coming-of-age for San Francisco’s LGBT population. Affable and shrewd, politically adept and a skilled negotiator, Milk was destined to enjoy a bright future both within San Francisco’s political realm as well as on the national stage. But it was not to be. On November 27, 1978, a mere 11 months after taking office, Harvey Milk was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Disgruntled former City Supervisor Dan White was ultimately convicted, not of first-degree murder, but of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter – a verdict that triggered riots in the gay community. White served five years, only to commit suicide a year after his release from prison. Despite Milk’s short career in politics, he became an icon in San Francisco and "a martyr for gay rights" worldwide. Activist Cleve Jones observed “Though we tend to see our heroes as these mythic people, Harvey was an ordinary man, who faced challenges, defeats and humiliations like the rest of us …but he took the heart of San Francisco.” Anne Kronenberg, who managed Milk’s final campaign, wrote: "What set Harvey apart… was that he was a visionary. He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us." Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He remains the most famous openly gay person ever elected to office – an inspiration to the hundreds of men and women who can trace their own courageous forays into public service back to the historic election of Harvey Milk.
Lesson Plan
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Demography
Demography
Gender Male
Sexual Orientation Gay
Gender Identity Cisgender
Ethnicity Caucasian/White
Nations Affiliated United States
Era/Epoch Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) Information Age (1970-present) Korean War (1950-1953) Post-Stonewall Era (1974-1980) Stonewall Era (1969-1974)
Field(s) of Contribution
Advocacy & Activism
Civics, Government, Politics, & Law
Military
Politics
Social Justice
Social Sciences
US History
Commemorations & Honors
Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club (1978)
Harvey Milk High School in New York City (1985)
Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco Dedicated (1985)
Named One of Time Magazine's 100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century (1999)
Named One of Advocate Magazine 40 Heroes of the 20th Century (2000)
Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom For Activism (2009)
Harvey Milk Day Enacted in California (2009)
Posthumous California Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
US Postal Service Commemorative Postage Stamp- First LGBT Politician to Receive the Honor (2014)
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall National Monument Inductee (2019)
San Francisco International Airport Terminal 1 Renamed Harvey Milk Terminal 1 (2019)
Harvey Milk Square in Paris France Named After Him (2019)
Command Fleet Oiler to be Named USNS Harvey Milk (2021)
Demography
Gender Male
Sexual Orientation Gay
Gender Identity Cisgender
Ethnicity Caucasian/White
Nations Affiliated United States
Era/Epoch Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) Information Age (1970-present) Korean War (1950-1953) Post-Stonewall Era (1974-1980) Stonewall Era (1969-1974)
Field(s) of Contribution
Advocacy & Activism
Civics, Government, Politics, & Law
Military
Politics
Social Justice
Social Sciences
US History
Commemorations & Honors
Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club (1978)
Harvey Milk High School in New York City (1985)
Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco Dedicated (1985)
Named One of Time Magazine's 100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century (1999)
Named One of Advocate Magazine 40 Heroes of the 20th Century (2000)
Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom For Activism (2009)
Harvey Milk Day Enacted in California (2009)
Posthumous California Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
US Postal Service Commemorative Postage Stamp- First LGBT Politician to Receive the Honor (2014)
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall National Monument Inductee (2019)
San Francisco International Airport Terminal 1 Renamed Harvey Milk Terminal 1 (2019)
Harvey Milk Square in Paris France Named After Him (2019)
Command Fleet Oiler to be Named USNS Harvey Milk (2021)
Resources
Resources
Black, Dustin Lance. Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk. New York: Newmarket Press, 2009.
Faderman, Lillian. Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2018.
Harvey Milk/Scott Smith Collection. GLBT Historical Society: San Francisco, California.
Milk, Harvey. Harvey Milk Interviews : In His Own Words. San Francisco, California: Gazelle, 2010.
Shilts, Randy. The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. New York: St. Martin's, 1982.
Stryker, Susan, and Jim Van Buskirk. Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1996.
https://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Harvey-Milk-among-Medal-of-Freedom-honorees-3290704.php
https://news.usni.org/2016/07/28/navy-name-ship-gay-rights-activist-harvey-milk
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harvey-Milk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/harvey-milk
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/624624/harvey-milk-facts
https://www.them.us/story/harvey-milk-adolescent-roots
https://twitter.com/CarterLibrary/status/1447547815241080833 “In support of #NationalComingOutDay we share these 1978 letters between Midge Costanza, Asst. to the Pres., & Harvey Milk, Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, one of the 1st openly-gay elected officials in the US”
Resources
Black, Dustin Lance. Milk: A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk. New York: Newmarket Press, 2009.
Faderman, Lillian. Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2018.
Harvey Milk/Scott Smith Collection. GLBT Historical Society: San Francisco, California.
Milk, Harvey. Harvey Milk Interviews : In His Own Words. San Francisco, California: Gazelle, 2010.
Shilts, Randy. The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. New York: St. Martin's, 1982.
Stryker, Susan, and Jim Van Buskirk. Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1996.
https://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Harvey-Milk-among-Medal-of-Freedom-honorees-3290704.php
https://news.usni.org/2016/07/28/navy-name-ship-gay-rights-activist-harvey-milk
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harvey-Milk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/harvey-milk
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/624624/harvey-milk-facts
https://www.them.us/story/harvey-milk-adolescent-roots
https://twitter.com/CarterLibrary/status/1447547815241080833 “In support of #NationalComingOutDay we share these 1978 letters between Midge Costanza, Asst. to the Pres., & Harvey Milk, Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, one of the 1st openly-gay elected officials in the US”