Harvey Milk was the first acknowledged homosexual public official in San Francisco and probably the entire nation. He worked to protect the rights of gays, and other social issues in the nation. Milk was just like anyone else, he was a well rounded athlete in high school, he graduated from a college in Albany New York, after college he then enlisted in the navy. He was a lieutenant junior on an aircraft carrier; he taught Mathematics and History and coached basketball. He then opened a camera shop in the gay neighborhood of Castro Street where he became known as the mayor. In 1973 Harvey Milk had decided to run for the board of supervisors. When he was running he made his sexuality known from the start and he gained support from his neighborhood. Milk was eventually elected supervisor. In 1978 Milk and Moscone wanted to protect homosexual rights, which would have been the strongest law in the nation. It passed all 11 votes but one negative vote from a man named Dan White. White wanted to be reappointed, and figured out that the mayor didn’t want the same; he then went and killed Milk and Moscone. He got away with the murder because his lawyer said that he had eaten too much junk food, and he was charged with voluntary manslaughter. This created a major conflict among many people which ended in some riots later on. Harvey Milk was one of the first Gays in America who stood up for homosexuals in a public and governmental sense. He was a very influential person, and many people believed in what he wanted and followed him as he gained popularity. Harvey Milk was one of the most influential people in Gay rights history. He is the most influential people because he encouraged homosexuals to be truthful about whom they were, when he ran for a position in the government and said from the beginning that he was gay. I think that it was very unfortunate that he was murdered but he didn't die having done nothing, he left a huge impact on the homosexual society, and the rest of America.
Shilts, Randy, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, 1982; Weiss, Mike, Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall Killings, 1984.
Have you seen the movie Milk? It is all about Harvey Milk and how influencial he was in the homosexual community. I do think that the way Dan White was let off without jail time shows how insignificant the court thought of gay rights. Thankfully, times have changed since then although I believe that they could still improve. I really think that you should rent Milk because it was a very moving film that showed a great perspective of how people's human rights were affected.
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