Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in the United
States, after 3 unsuccessful attempts. He was elected to the San
Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1977. Election night, Harvey
reminded his supporters "This is not my victory – it’s yours. If a
gay man can win, it proves that there is hope for all minorities who
are willing to fight."
Harvey Milk was born in 1930 in Woodmere, Long Island, New York. He
graduated from New York College for teachers, served four years in the
US Navy, taught high school mathematics and history on Long Island
and worked in finance in New York City. When he moved to San Francisco
in 1972, he opened a camera store on Castro street.
Harvey Milk wasn’t famous until after his murder.
After being elected into San Francisco’ County Board of Supervisors,
hate mail started to pour into his office. A chilling foresight Milk
made a tape recording on November 18, 1977 with instructions to have
it read only if he died by assassination. In it he says, "If a bullet
should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door." On
November 27, 1978, Supervisor Milk and Mayor Mascone were assassinated
by Dan White, a former police officer who had clashed with Milk over
gay issues. After shooting the mayor, White entered Milk’s office
and shot him five times at his desk.
At trial, White’s attorney used the "Twinkie" defense – that too much
junk food affected White’s reasoning abilities. The jury found him
guilty of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven years,
eight months for the two murders. Many San Franciscans were outraged
at his light sentence. Demonstrations at City Hall erupted into riots
on May 21, 1979 (the eve of what would have been Milk’s 49th birthday),
which became known as "White Night."
Milk left a legacy, he profoundly influenced gay and lesbian politics,
and wa also a champion of human rights. Milk once said, "…you’ve got
to keep electing gay people…to know there I better hope for tomorrow.
Not only for gays, but for blacks, Asians, the disabled, our senior
citizens and us. Without hope, we give up. I know you cannot live on
hope alone, but without it life is not worth living. You and you and
you have got to see that the promise does not fade." His martyrdom
is a painful reminder of the length and difficulty of the journey to
freedom.
Portions of this text taken from:
http://www.kqed.org/Cell/neighbourhoods/castro/harveymilk.html
