Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk, a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Korean War, was the first widely known and nationally recognized openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. In 1977 he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors through support from immigrant, elderly, minority, union, and gay voters, and his grassroots campaign and victory signaled a coming-of-age for San Francisco’s LGBT population. Affable, shrewd, politically adept, and a skilled negotiator, he seemed poised for a bright future in San Francisco politics and on the national stage, but on November 27, 1978, only 11 months after taking office, he was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Former City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder, a verdict that triggered riots in the gay community; after serving five years, White committed suicide a year after his release from prison. Despite his short political career, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr for gay rights worldwide, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, and remains an inspiration to many who trace their own public service to his historic election.

Chicago, Illinois · United States