200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

Primary Source Set: Harvey Milk

Why this source is used

GLBT Historical Society primary source set for Harvey Milk and his political context.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility? They changed visibility in politics, science, activism and literature by showing that queer lives could be public, influential and historic. Read the topic guide Queer Public Trailblazers Queer public trailblazers made LGBTQ+ lives visible across science, civil rights, elected office and trans liberation, often while facing erasure or punishment.

Source Status

Publisher
GLBT Historical Society
Type
archive
Reliability
high
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.glbthistory.org/primary-source-set-harvey-milk Accessed 2 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.glbthistory.org/primary-source-set-harvey-milk

Used by Topics

Queer Public Trailblazers

Used by Questions

Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility?

Used by Timeline Events

8 November 1977 LegalActivismPeople

Harvey Milk Elected — America's First Openly Gay City Official

Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. A camera shop owner in the Castro district, Milk ran on a platform of gay rights, neighbourhood empowerment, and coalition politics. He successfully sponsored a gay rights ordinance for San Francisco and fought against the Briggs Initiative (Proposition 6), which would have banned gay teachers from California schools. On 27 November 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White. White received a controversial manslaughter verdict that sparked the White Night riots.