Event: May 22: Harvey Milk Day
Overview: Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States as a Supervisor on the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco. He lead several campaigns to secure more rights for gay people. However, within about a year of his election into office, former colleague Dan White assassinated both Milk and the mayor. Milk has since been honored in a number of ways, one of the ways being Harvey Milk Day in California.
Action: Celebrate Harvey Milk Day by raising awareness about Harvey Milk (school announcements, posters, etc) and/or host a movie night and watch one of the movies made about Milk (the most recent movie in 2008 is rated R).
Quick Lesson Steps:
- Questions to ask: Why do you think LGBTQ representation in government and political office is important? Do you know any “out” local political office members or state or federal political office holders? (e.g. like a school board member or city council member, or state assembly or senator; or federal state representative or federal state senator?)
- Show / Do:
a) Tell a story: From a young age, Milk knew he was gay, but he kept his sexuality to himself. In 1972, he moved to San Francisco and opened a camera shop on Castro Street, a hub for the LGBTQ community. From here, Milk became an outspoken activist and got involved in politics. Some of his political actions included supporting the Teamsters Union’s Coors boycott and creating the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club. After two attempts, he was finally elected into the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977. During his term, Milk passed a bill banning discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation. In 1978, he contributed to the defeat of the Briggs Initiative, a ballot measure that would permit teachers to be banned for being gay or supporting the gay community. b) Show a short clip of a speech by Milk about the importance of having LGBTQ people in office and his hopes: Give Them Hope [Play until 1:50min; contains mention of suicide]c) Continue the story: On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former Supervisor with strained relations with Milk, entered city hall and assassinated both the mayor and Milk. In reaction to the news, tens of thousands of people marched in a peaceful vigil. White’s defense in trial is known as the “Twinkie Defense” in which his lawyers claimed White’s intake of junk food contributed to his lack of moral judgment.
- Reflection Questions: Why do you think that Harvey Milk was assassinated? Why is having out LGBTQ public figures in office important? What can you do to support LGBTQ public figures?
Background:
Born in 1930, Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. He was born in New York to a middle class Jewish family. From a young age, Milk knew he was gay, but he kept his sexuality to himself. After going through a number of jobs and professions, Milk moved to San Francisco in 1972, but not before interacting with gay radicals in Greenwich Village which contributed to Milk’s later activism. Upon initially arriving in San Francisco, Milk opened a camera shop on Castro Street, a hub for the city’s gay community. From here, Milk became an outspoken activist and got involved in politics. Some of his political actions included supporting the Teamsters Union’s Coors boycott and creating the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club.
After two attempts, he was finally elected into the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977. One of his first campaigns was a “pooper-scooper” ordinance that required dog owners clean up after their dogs to demonstrate his receptiveness to public needs. In 1978, Milk passed a bill banning discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation. Also in 1978, he contributed to the defeat of the Briggs Initiative, a ballot measure that would permit teachers to be banned for being gay or supporting the gay community.
On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former Supervisor with strained relations with Milk, entered City Hall through the basement with a revolver. After the mayor, Moscone, refused to reinstate White as a Supervisor, White shot Moscone dead and then went down the hallway and killed Milk in his office. At the news of the assassinations, tens of thousands of people marched in a vigi. White’s defense in trial is known as the “Twinkie Defense” in which his lawyers blamed White’s intake of junk food, something he normally does not eat, in conjunction with the stress of his job loss, as the cause of his lasp of moral judgment. White was ultimately sentenced to less than 8 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. In response to this, protestors stormed City Hall and police and protestors were injured. This protest is known as the White Night Riots.
There are a couple of films commemorating Milk, and May 22, Milk’s birthday, is recognized in California as Harvey Milk Day. A US navy ship is also to be named USNS Harvey Milk since Milk served in the navy for sometime, though some people believe Milk would have opposed this since he himself opposed the Vietnam War.
Resources:
- Resource page: GSA Network Harvey Milk Day
- Archived articles: New York Times: Harvey Milk
- Documentary: Kron-TV Documentary of Moscone-Milk Killings [48:06 min]
- Organization: Milk Foundation
