Harvey Milk
San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Marker Inscription
Harvey Milk May 22, 1930-November 27, 1978 Harvey Milk Plaza is named in honor of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, California's first elected official to be openly gay. In 1973, Harvey Milk opened Castro Camera at 575 Castro Street and moved into the apartment upstairs. Harvey's store soon became a center for political meetings and voter registration drives. Through his involvement in neighborhood issues. Harvey earned the title "The Mayor of Castro Street." As the influx of gay men and lesbians revitalized the neighborhood, Harvey assumed leadership of the Castro Village Merchants Association. In 1974 he organized the original Castro Street Fair. In January 1976, Mayor George Moscone appointed Harvey to the board of Permit Appeals as San Francisco's first openly gay Commissioner. In the 1977 District Election of the Supervisors, Harvey was elected to the Board from District. Harvey Milk was a representative of a despised minority, yet his lasting triumph is that he championed the rights of all people. In his tragically short term as a supervisor, Harvey Milk authored San Francisco's Gay Rights Ordinance and fought for the causes of women, the elderly, ethnic minorities, renters, environmentalists, union members and neighborhood residents. He also worked to establish district elections and improve public transit. Muni riders remember him as the first city official to use a Muni Fast Pass every day. Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated on November 27, 1978. That night 40,000 San Franciscans gathered at the site and proceeded to City Hall in a candlelight march. Harvey Milk Plaza was dedicated on September 15, 1985 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, Board of Supervisors President John L. Molinari and Harvey's successor, Supervisor Harry Britt. "I am all of us!" - Harvey Milk
The Story
This plaza honors Harvey Milk, who in 1977 became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he won a seat on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. From his Castro Camera store he built a neighborhood movement, earning the nickname "the Mayor of Castro Street" and authoring the city's Gay Rights Ordinance while championing renters, seniors, and working people. His assassination alongside Mayor George Moscone in November 1978 brought 40,000 mourners into the streets in a candlelight march. The plaza was dedicated in his memory in 1985.
Why it matters
Milk became a national symbol of LGBTQ political power and the broader American struggle for equal rights, and the plaza marks the neighborhood where that movement took root.
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Related people
- · Harvey Milk
- · George Moscone
- · Dianne Feinstein
- · Harry Britt
Related events
- · Assassination of Harvey Milk and George Moscone
Themes & tags
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