There have been many strong and memorable politicians throughout American history, but one person that doesn’t get enough recognition would be Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the US in 1977 (source). Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and has assassinated that following year. Milk made huge strives for the gay and lesbian community as he has become known as a huge icon within the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community for his contributions towards equal rights within the LGBT community. Harvey Milk was born on May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York and grew up in a middle-class Jewish family (source). Milk ended up joining the U.S. Navy after graduating in 1951 …show more content…
(source). By 1972, Milk decided to move to San Francisco, California, after becoming bored with his current life in New York City. In the heart of the gay community, Milk opened up a camera shop called Castro Camera, which was located on Castro Street. For most of Milk’s life, despite being gay, tended to keep this aspect of his life private even during the emerging gay rights movement (source). However, Milk’s attitude changed once he became involved with gay radicals and after his move to San Francisco, his involvement in politics began to surface. Castro Camera soon became the center where gay rights were discussed and it was there that Milk found his voice as both a leader and an activist. Milk knew that the only way to achieve equality for gays and lesbians was for a gay person to be elected to public office (source). Milk would say, “There is a major difference – and it remains a vital difference – between a friend and gay person, a friend in office and a gay person in office… it’s not enough anymore to have friends represent us. No matter how good that friend may be” (source). By 1973, Milk declared his candidacy for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (source). However, Milk lost the