Harvey Milk

Harvey Bernard Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States (and only the second open homosexual, after Massachusetts State Assembly member Elaine Noble). His tragic assassination in San Francisco’s City Hall made him the American gay liberation movement’s most visible martyr.

Milk’s tenure in office was tragically short-lived. On November 27, 1978, after serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for only 11 months, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a disgruntled former Supervisor who had resigned in opposition to the recent passage of Milk’s only significant piece of legislation, a landmark gay rights ordinance.

When White was sentenced on May 21, 1979 to less than eight years in prison, enraged citizens, sensing a conspiracy, swarmed City Hall in what came to be known as the White Night Riots. San Francisco suffered more than $1 million in damages to city property, including rows of police cars set on fire by angry protesters. Later that night, the police staged a retaliatory raid on the Castro, where they vandalized gay businesses and beat passers-by on the street. (White was paroled after serving six years in prison and committed suicide shortly thereafter.)  (Susan Stryker)

 

There is a movie coming out about Harvey Milks life.  It’s titled ‘Milk’ and it stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.  The release date is December of this year.

 

Harvey Milk Quotes:

 

If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.

 

My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.

 

Hope will never be silent

 

all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.