Harvey Milk

Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and gay rights activist who served as a San Francisco supervisor for ten months in 1978. Elected on November 8, 1977, to represent the city's Fifth District, which included the Castro neighborhood, Milk became the first openly homosexual man to hold major elected office in California. A U.S. Navy veteran who rose to lieutenant junior grade before resigning in 1955 amid scrutiny of his personal life, Milk relocated to San Francisco in the early 1970s, where he owned a camera store and built a following among gay residents.

Milk's political rise followed unsuccessful runs for the California State Assembly in 1976 and San Francisco supervisor in 1973 and 1975; his 1977 victory coincided with the city's shift to district-based elections, enabling localized representation. In office, he advocated for ordinances barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, and public services, which the board passed in April 1978. He also campaigned vigorously against Proposition 6, the statewide Briggs Initiative, which aimed to dismiss gay teachers and their supporters from public schools; the measure failed in November 1978 due to a broad coalition effort. Milk's tenure emphasized neighborhood issues and opposition to conservative social policies, though his influence was constrained by the board's structure and his short time in office.