Harvey Milk
by Jena from San Diego
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In today's society many lifestyles have been changed immensely from the past. These events wouldn't have happened without heroes to stand up for what they believe in to make a difference. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician. He won a seat on the San Francisco, California board of Supervisors. In 1955, Harvey Milk served in the Korean War and was promoted junior lieutenant for his brave acts. Later on, in 1973, he decided to run for city council in San Francisco. In 1963, Milk decided to move to San Francisco with McKinley (his fiance) because he was hired as stage director for the musical Hair. During the 1990's, Harvey Milk could be found in Houston, New York City, or California, where he co-commissions opera houses.Unfortunately, he was assassinated on November 27, 1978 by Dan White, during a meeting in City Hall. After his death he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. This is the highest civilian honor in the United States and was earned for his courageous and powerful movement for gay rights. A hero must possess many character traits that make them special and stand out from the rest. Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay politician, is a hero because of his acts of courage while fighting laws and devotion to the community, which created a big movement in our society today.
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Harvey Milk showed his courageous acts throughout his career and stood up for what he believed in even when others didn't agree with him. Harvey states "He vigorously fought for laws that would slow corporate land speculation...the ordinance forbid anti gay discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations" ("Harvey Milk"). Milk challenged the Board of Supervisors to protect and support the views of gays and lesbians. This made him a hero because he was the only one who stood up and listed to everyone's ideas, rather than discriminating stereotypes. Another example of Milk's courageous acts was,"After some area merchants tried to prevent two gay men from opening a store, Milk and a few other business owners founded the Castro Village Association, a first in the nation organizing of predominantly LGBT businesses, with Milk as president" ("Milk Foundation").When Harvey discovered two gay men tried to open a store, but was brought down by merchants, he started his own business soon after. He shows his courage by continuing to fight and finding any reason to help the lives of others. "He campaigned across the state against Proposition 6, a measure on the California ballot that would prevent anyone who talked about, advocated, or practiced homosexuality from teaching in the schools." ("Harvey Milk 2").Harvey stood up for homosexuals and discriminated against unequal behaviors towards them. He shows courage by fighting for others and knowing there will be people who disagree and will try to bring him down. These examples show how he work hard continuously for the community and for the future of America.
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Milk always wanted to become better and spent every second he could to be the best candidate be for the community because he was devoted. During his third time running for the government, "Milk spent much of the next year preparing for his next election campaign. He cultivated a more mainstream look and gave up smoking marijuana. He also revitalized the Castro Village Association as a powerful civic organization, and launched the popular Castro Street Fair"("Harvey Bernard Milk"). He changed his ways to become the best candidate he could be for the public. This quote shows how Milk was devoted to the community and went out of his way to create public events for civilians. Harvey continued to step up his game during his campaign,"Milk's third campaign began two months after he took his seat on the Board of Permit Appeals...despite his lack of support from the groups normally in Milk's camp-LGB organizations, unions, and Democrats-Milk won seventeen thousand votes and lost to Agnos by only four thousand votes" ("Harvey Milk 2"). Milk never gave up on running for the Board of Supervisors, even after his third try. Without the support from LGBT groups, Harvey still demonstrates his devotion by campaigning and eventually won votes from the public. Milk stands up for what he believes in and preached,"In one of his eloquent speeches, Milk spoke of the American ideal of equality, proclaiming, 'Gay people, we will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. . We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions."' ("Milk Foundation"). He believed that heterosexuals should not treat LGBT people with disrespect because of who they truly are. Again, Harvey Milk showed his devotion to others by giving speeches to the public on how we need to accept and support the choices of others. These reasons tell why Harvey Milk was a huge impact on our society and shaped how our daily lives today. His courageous acts and devotion towards the government made him a hero. Milk stood for all those who felt that the government no longer understood the respects of individual rights and strived to help those who felt unheard. He also wanted to make sure people had a voice in government decisions. Historian John D'Emilio summarizes what Milk has left behind: "Harvey Milk remains a powerful symbol of gay liberation whose lasting message was openness, honesty, pride, and hope. The legacy that I think he would want to be remembered for is the imperative to live one's life at all times with integrity" ("Harvey Milk 2"). Many people gained hope from Milk because of his powerful movements to change the society of gays and lesbians. His courage and devotion started a huge first step in culture and changed the way we look at people today. Due to these reasons, I strongly believe that Harvey was an important hero that completely changed the way we live today.Works Cited
Foss, Karen A. "Harvey Milk." Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America. Ed. Marc Stein. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Biography in Context. 6 May 2016
"Harvey Bernard Milk." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. 2 May 2016.
"Harvey Milk." Gay & Lesbian Biography. Ed. Michael J. Tyrkus and Michael Bronski. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Biography in Context. 6 May 2016.
"Milk Foundation.org." Milk Foundation.org RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.
Milk, Harvey, Jason Edward. Black, and Charles E. Morris. An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk's Speeches and Writings. N.p.: Regents of the University of California, 2013. Print.
Page created on 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM
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