Harvey Milk And Mass Homophobia In The 20th Century

In future history books the 20th century might be best remembered as 100 years of racism and sexism. These future books will discuss one group that was rarely mentioned during that time period: homosexuals. Between 1901-2000, mass homophobia existed in the United States. Much like today, America was a place of fear and consternation for the LGBTQ community, and it seemed like there was no hope towards acceptance for members. In April 1952, homosexuality was even formally declared a mental disorder with limited empirical and scientific data supporting the claim. This declaration was the catalyst to a societal belief that it wasn’t normal to be gay and therefore homosexuality could be cured ("Discrimination in the 20th Century"). At a time when faith for a better tomorrow was dramatically crumbling in the gay community, a man emerged from the debris surrounded by a ray of light. He became their beacon, their hope, their voice. His name was Harvey Milk. Born in New York on May 22, 1930, Harvey Bernard Milk was raised as a perspicacious middle-class Jewish child. At Bay Shore High School, he was a football player, an opera singer, and a hard worker at his family business. Around the same time homophobia was emerging as a popular trait within America, Milk was graduating from the New York State College for Teachers and joining the U.S. Navy. After serving

. . and Dan White began to target Milk. The two men were complete opposites in many ways, however the most prominent way was their liberal (Milk) vs. conservative (White) views on the world. Their overwhelmingly differing lifestyles would become the final nail in the coffin in regards to Dan White’s mental state. On Monday, November 27, 1978, Dan White murdered Harvey Milk at San Francisco City Hall after sneaking in through a