Harvey Milk, born on Long Island, New York, on May 22, 1930, was a high school football player, mathematician, diving instructor, Navy lieutenant, high school teacher, actuarial statistician, Wall Street researcher, and an openly gay political advocate. After moving to San Francisco's Castro District, he became an advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population and, as a community leader, forged coalitions with other groups competing for power as the city's population changed in the 1960s. From his camera shop in the Castro District, he opposed government interference and policies, then ran for office and, in 1977, became the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. As a supervisor, he helped secure guarantees for the rights of LGBT people in San Francisco and became a symbol of hope for LGBT people across the globe as communities struggled to pass legislation guaranteeing human rights for everyone, inclusive of LGBT people. In 1978, he brought that message to Long Beach when he spoke to the local Lambda Democratic Club and urged its members to continue their campaign against a California initiative that sought to bar gays and lesbians from working in public schools. Shortly afterward, on November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor Moscone were shot to death by a former city supervisor who had recently resigned from the Board of Supervisors. Since his death, Milk has become an icon for the gay community, inspiring others to continue the struggle with a message of hope that "Hope will never be silent." Long Beach also has a long history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activism and leadership. Although LGBT individuals had long lived there, the community began to grow significantly in the 1960s, and bars, churches, and other gathering places opened where LGBT people could meet, discuss issues, and create a hotline and service center for social services and recreational activities. In 1977, the Lambda Democratic Club was organized to defeat a California initiative that would have barred gays and lesbians from working in public education, and around the same time a local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays was formed. In 1984, local leaders organized the first Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival and Parade to foster cooperation, understanding, and mutual respect between the LGBT community and the rest of the city, and it later grew into the third largest such event in the nation, attracting more than 75,000 participants over two days. In 1987, the Long Beach City Council banned discrimination against LGBT people in employment, and two years later it banned discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. The City of Long Beach Human Dignity Program was established in 2000 to show the city's commitment to embracing and valuing cultural diversity. As LGBT people took larger roles in city life, three openly gay members were elected to the City Council, and in 2012 the Human Rights Campus named Long Beach one of the 10 top cities in the United States for inclusive LGBT policies. The LGBT community remains a source of pride in Long Beach for its work in advocating equality and opportunity, and nine local LGBT leaders were honored at the groundbreaking ceremony for Harvey Milk Promenade Park on May 22, 2012.
