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HARVEY MILKA great American citizen
May 22, 1930 -November 27, 1978
Timothy Gadaleto per.2
BORN MAY 22, 1930
• Harvey and his brother Robert worked in the family department store called Milks. His mother and father were Lithuanian and started a Jewish synagogue well known in New York called Litvaks.
• Harvey knew he was gay since he was 14 in high school. He was popular and his interests ranged from opera to football.
• Harvey graduated in 1951 from Bayshore High School. He enlisted in the Navy during the Korean war as a diving instructor. He was discharged in 1955 as a lieutenant junior grade.
THE MAYOR OF CASTRO STREET
• Living in San Francisco, California, Harvey Milk worked at Castro Camera, which became a neighborhood center. He became a counselor for everyone that came in, helping them find jobs, apartments, or needed items.
• Milk became a leader and activist standing up for all human rights, especially for the LGTB community.
• Harvey ran for the position of San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1973, but lost. In 1975 he tried again for the same seat, but lost again. In 1977, he finally won a seat on the San Francisco City-County Board. He was the first gay officer in the city, and one of the first openly gay people to be elected to office in the United States.
WHAT HARVEY MILK ADVOCATED• Protecting gay rights
• Anti discrimination
• Establishing day care centers for working mothers
• Conversion of military facilities in the city to low cost housing
• Reform of the tax code to attract industry to deserted factories
• Safe neighborhoods
• Improve services for library and community policing
• State and national interests to LGBT people, women, racial and ethnic minorities
LGBT
• Harvey Co-founded the 'Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club' (changed to the 'Harvey Milk Democratic Club' after his assassination). “No decisions which affect our lives should be made without the gay voice being heard. We want our fair share of city services. We want openly gay people appointed and elected to city offices—people who reflect the diversity of our community. We want the schools of San Francisco to provide full exposure to and positive appreciation of gay lifestyles. We are asking no more than we deserve: We will not settle for less.”
BRIGGS INITIATIVE PROPOSITION 6
• Milk and a group of other activists headed a campaign to challenge the Briggs Initiative with the slogan, "Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!".
• Known as The Briggs Initiative, Proposition 6 would have banned gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools.
But thanks to Milk's work that former-President Gerald Ford, then-President Jimmy Carter, and future-President Ronald Reagan all opposed the Briggs Initiative and on 7th November 1978, the initiative was defeated with 58.4% voting against it, and it even lost in Briggs' own Orange County, a conservative stronghold.
• California Proposition 6 was on the November 7, 1978 statewide ballot in California as an initiated state statute, where it was defeated.
Milk believed in non violence to get his point across. Standing on a soap box using a bullhorn, Milk would rally his supporters in the gay community to have thousands of people march through San Francisco, but he never let them get out of control.
ALLIANCESHarvey Milk sought to gain the confidence of all parts of the community. He reached out to local business and workers unions. He was able to bring the gay and straight communities together to solve problems and discrimination issues.
NOVEMBER 27, 1978
Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. Former city Supervisor Dan White snuck into City Hall, went to Mayor Moscone’s Office and shot him. He then walked to Milk’s office and killed him.
Dan White was declared innocent of the murders and was given a small sentence for manslaughter. His defense, known as the “Twinkie defense,” claimed that he had eaten too much junk food on the day of the murders and couldn’t be held accountable for his actions. He was sentenced to less than eight years of prison on May 21, 1979 – the day before Milk’s 49th birthday.
PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WERE STUNNED BY THE NEWS OF THE DOUBLE ASSASSINATION. THEY LEFT THEIR HOMES, JOBS AND SCHOOLS TO MOURN THE LOSS OF THESE TWO GREAT LEADERS. CROWDS BEGAN FORMING IN FRONT OF CITY HALL. BY NIGHTFALL THOUSANDS FILLED THE MILE-LONG STREET AND RAN FROM THE CASTRO TO CITY HALL. THEY STOOD IN SILENCE, CARRYING CANDLES. THAT NIGHT THE PEOPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO WEPT.
MAY 22Harvey Milk’s work was the model for gay rights advocacy nation wide. His work earned him a Presidential Medal of Freedom after his death (2009), the Time magazine named him one of the most influential people of the 20th century, and the State of California named a holiday after him on his birthday.
In 2008, a movie about Milk was released. Milk lent his voice to the present day gay rights movement in the United States. His beliefs were that the government needed to represent individuals and not just interest groups. Equality for all citizens.
DEFENSIVE, SUPPORTIVE, AND TOLERABLE
• I think the best characteristics of good citizenship are defending other people’s rights, supporting the positive change, and having tolerance towards others.
• Harvey Milk was defending citizen’s rights by challenging the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gay citizens from working in public schools. He also supported the positive change when he advocated the reform of the tax code to attract industry to deserted factories. He tolerated all citizens and never discriminated against others. He told his followers not to get violent when other people were picking on his neighbors and local community.
