Biography
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Born and raised in New York, Milk recognized his homosexuality during adolescence but maintained discretion about his relationships into adulthood. His involvement in the 1960s counterculture led him to abandon many conservative beliefs about personal freedom and sexual expression.
In 1972, Milk relocated to San Francisco and opened a camera store. After a period of frequent job changes and moves, he settled in The Castro, a neighborhood attracting many gay men and lesbians. In 1973, he ran for city supervisor despite opposition from the established gay political community. His campaign was theatrical, marked by a bold and outspoken style that drew media coverage and votes, though he was not elected. He campaigned again in two subsequent supervisor elections, calling himself the "Mayor of Castro Street." His growing support also led him to run for the California State Assembly. Leveraging his rising popularity, he became a leader in the gay political movement, actively opposing anti-gay initiatives. In 1977, following changes in San Francisco's election system favoring neighborhood-based representation, Milk won a seat on the Board of Supervisors.
During nearly eleven months in office, Milk sponsored legislation prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment based on sexual orientation. The Supervisors passed the bill 11–1, and Mayor George Moscone signed it into law. On November 27, 1978, both Milk and Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a former city supervisor.
Though his political career was brief, Milk became a symbol in San Francisco and a martyr for the gay community. In 2002, he was described as "the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States." Anne Kronenberg, his final campaign manager, remarked, "What set Harvey apart from you or me 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.
This description is adapted from the Wikipedia article "Harvey Milk," licensed under CC-BY-SA.
