The first openly gay man to hold public office in California, Harvey Milk was assassinated barely a year into his tenure on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. But, despite his short spell in office, Milk made a disproportionately impactful contribution to the
The first openly gay man to hold public office in California, Harvey Milk was assassinated barely a year into his tenure on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. But, despite his short spell in office, Milk made a disproportionately impactful contribution to the LGBTQ rights revolution as it gained momentum in the late-1970s.
Here are 10 facts about Harvey Milk.
1. Milk wasn’t openly gay for much of his life
He may now be remembered as a ground-breaking representative of the LGBTQ community, but for much of his life Milk’s sexuality was a carefully guarded secret. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, he lived a professionally unsettled life, serving in the Navy, working in finance, then as a teacher, before finding his way into politics as a volunteer on Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964.
Given his association with left-wing politics it might come as a surprise to learn that Milk volunteered for the Republican party. In f