Hynson-Harvey+Milk

Todd Hynson-Harvey Milk

Rights for homosexuals began getting discriminated in the early 1950's President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a Executive order in 1953 banning all gay and lesbian people from all federal jobs, and the FBI began surveillance against homosexuals. The federal goverment began encouraging the police forces to harass gay citizens, Gay bars were raided arresting dozens of gay and lesbian citizens. Some men like Harry Hay and Chuck Rowland met to form the Mattachine Society. In 1955 it joined with a lesbian organization known as the Daughters of Bilitis, they started chapters in several cities and published magazines. In the 1960's like Franklin Kameny and Barbara Gittings picketed government agencies in Washington to protest discriminatory employment policies. On June 27, 1969 the police in New York City raided a Greenwich villiage gay bar, the Stonewell bar, and the patrons inside the bar fought back against the police. When the patrons fought back it provoked three nights of rioting in the area it brought on the slogan of "gay power". Almost overnight a massive grassroots gay liberations movement was born.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California. He was not very open about being gay and did not participate in civic matters until age 40 after his experiences in the 1960's. He served in the public office for 11 months and was responsible for a stringent of gay rights ordinance for the city. Milk battled for a wide range of social change in education, public trasportation, child care, and low-income housing. On November 27, 1978 him and Mayor George Mascone were assassinated by Dan White a city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. White turned himself in two hours later. In 1978 Harvey gave a really famous speech:

"Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all the sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they will be tossed out of the house, their classmates will taunt the child, and the Anita Bryant's and John Briggs' are doing their part on TV. And that child has several options: staying in the closet, and suicide. And then one day that child might open the paper that says "Homosexual elected in San Francisco" and there are two new options: the option is to go to California, or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said "Thanks". And you've got to elect gay people, so that thousand upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's: without hope the us's give up. I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."

The outcome of his assassination outraged homosexuals riots erupted, resulting in hundreds of injuries, a dozen burned police cars, and around $250,000 in property. The day after Harvey Milks murder Police were wearing shirts that said "Free Dan White", White was convicted sentenced for seven years but was released in five years for good behavior. Milks and Moscones murders changed city politics and the California legal system. A biopic "Milk" was released in 2008. Milk became a icon in San Francisco and "martyr for gay rights" and in 2009 Milks family was awarded the presidential medal for freedom.

Hi my name is Harvey Milk I was born May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York in Long Island