Today, May 22nd, is the birthday of late politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. To commemorate his legacy, Governor Gavin Newsom of California declared Harvey Milk Day to be observed on May 22nd.
For the uninitiated, Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist and later the first openly gay elected official in California.
Early in his career, Milk was credited with the founding of the Castro Village Association in San Francisco, which was made up primarily of LGBTQ+ businesses in response to the Eureka Valley Merchants Association’s (EVMA) homophobic practices, which went so far as to try to keep gay people from being able to acquire business licenses.
Milk was the owner of a small camera store on Castro Street, and as a small business owner, Milk quickly became frustrated by the city of San Francisco’s discriminatory bureaucracy and began organizing with other queer businesses, which was a first in the nation and led to the establishment of the Castro Street Fair in 1974.
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The Fair drew more than 5,000 people that day. Milk would later decide to run for office in the city of San Francisco. Despite many failed campaigns, he remained persistent and was eventually elected to serve on the city’s Board of Supervisors in 1978 with the help of voters in the Castro district.
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As a supervisor, Milk championed numerous progressive initiatives that increased anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people. His most significant achievement in that regard was getting a bill passed that banned discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation. It became one of the nation’s strongest gay rights measures at the time.
He was also noted for fighting Prop. 6, which would’ve required public schools in California to fire gay teachers.
Milk was aware of the risks of being an openly gay public official and received death threats daily. Unfortunately, it would be that sort of attention that did him in, as on November 27, 1978, disgruntled former city supervisor Dan White snuck into city hall and murdered Milk along with Mayor George Moscone. White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 5-7 years in prison. This light sentence caused outrage within San Francisco’s gay community.
Harvey Milk would’ve been 95 today. Milk believed that local and state governments should reflect and stand for the rights of all of their people. Days like this are important in remembering how far we’ve come in the fight for gay rights and the lessons from those who fought for us.
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