Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Politics and gay activism were not his early interests; he was not open about his homosexuality and did not participate in civic matters until around the age of 40, after his experiences in the counterculture of the 1960s.Milk moved from New York City to settle in San Francisco in 1972 amid a migration of gay men to the Castro District. He took advantage of the growing political and economic power of the neighborhood to promote his interests, and ran unsuccessfully for political office three times. His theatrical campaigns earned him increasing popularity, and Milk won a seat as a city supervisor in 1977, part of the broader social changes the city was experiencing.Milk served almost 11 months in office and was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. Milk's election was made possible by and was a key component of a shift in San Francisco politics.Despite his short career in politics, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr in the gay community. In 2002, Milk was called "the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States". Anne Kronenberg, his final campaign manager, wrote of him: "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.
Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama,...
Star Sign
Gemini
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Quote
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"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door".
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"Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight".
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Fact
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Pictured on a nondemominated, 'forever' USA commemorative postage stamp issued 22 May 2014. Price on day of issue was 49¢.
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Did not decide to pursue a career in politics until he was in his mid-forties.
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Was inspired to enter politics after his anger over the Watergate Scandal.
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Played football in high school.
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His nephew Stuart is also a LGBT Right activist and founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation.
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Served in the U.S. Navy and achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade.
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He is frequently credited as one of the most important figures in the LGBT Rights movement.
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Was of Lithuanian Jewish descent.
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He was posthumously awarded the Presidential medal of Freedom in 2009.
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Was a teacher before entering politics and activism.
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He was murdered by San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White, who also killed Mayor George Moscone. White's defense of diminished capacity was infamously dubbed the "Twinkie Defense" and White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
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Opened the Castro Camera store, with his partner Scott Smith, after moving to San Francisco in 1972.
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The Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy was named in his honor. Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is a small, public alternative elementary school located in the heart of the Castro District.
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The Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco, California was named in his honor.
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In 1978, he was elected to the San Francisco city council, becoming the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California.
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His life has inspired such works as Randy Shilts' "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" and Romanovsky & Phillips' song "Homophobia", "Execution of Justice" an award-winning play by Emily Mann about his murder (remade for TV in 1999: Execution of Justice (1999)) and Stewart Wallace's and Michael Korie's opera, "Harvey Milk".
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
On the Waiting List: A Straight Man's Quest for LGBT Awareness
$100,000
