- Harvey Milk -

Hear Harvey's Voice a 52K WAV file of Harvey Milk speaking the words printed above. Harvey Milk is shown shaking hands with Jimmy Carter at the San Francisco Hilton, May 21, 1976 when Carter was running for President. Harvey told me that Carter did not want to be photographed with any homosexuals. So, naturally, Harvey wanted this picture. I'm sure Carter and his aides had no idea who Harvey was at the time. He had scraped together the $100 or so for the fund-raising dinner so he could meet Carter. I managed to get a 'Press Pass'. Harvey used the picture in campaign literature the following year.

The button to the right is Harvey's first campaign button, when he ran for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1973. He had long hair which was usually tied in a pony-tail.

This picture of Harvey Milk was taken at the Gay Pride Celebration, June 30, 1974, in San Francisco's Civic Center. He was selling raffle tickets. He no longer had the pony-tail but his hair was still pretty long. Earlier in the day, he and Scott Smith marched in the parade pushing a shopping cart full of film with a sign that read "CASTRO CAMERA". They sold film to people along the parade route.

***

Harvey Milk was born May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, Long Island, New York. He became a successful Wall Street investment analyst and supported Barry Goldwater for president. In the late 1960's he got involved in Tom O'Horgan's Broadway production of HAIR through his boyfriend Jack McKinley, the stage manager. Exposure to the counterculture began eroding his conservative values. When HAIR opened in San Francisco in 1969, McKinley became the stage manager, and Harvey soon followed him west and took a job as a financial analyst in the City. Unhappy with the political scene, he decided that he wanted to be Mayor of San Francisco! His new found liberalism, his charisma, weird sense of humor, and belief in politics as theater, set the stage for his San Francisco political career. SCOTT SMITH Harvey's relationship with Jack soured and he returned to New York and the Broadway scene where he soon met the new love of his life, Joseph Scott Smith. In 1972 they headed west and eventually settled in San Francisco. They opened "Castro Camera" at 575 Castro Street and Harvey soon began making waves on the political scene. He didn't agree with the strategy of the established gay politicians who worked to elect gay-friendly straight politicians. Unable to sway their thinking, Harvey Milk set out on his own to represent the gay community in City Hall. He used the store as his political office. Castro Camera was simply a desk and chair near the front door, with only the basic essentials in photo supplies. There was a barber chair for the customer to sit comfortably while being treated to Harvey's wit, showmanship, and latest political plans. The rest of the area was more like a living room with several couches and easy chairs. It served as Harvey's political conference room and campaign headquarters. It was mostly Scott's efforts that made the camera store successful. Scott and Harvey lived in the flat above the store. Harvey ran unsuccessfully for Board of Supervisors in 1973, and later for State Assembly against Art Agnos. He took advantage of every opportunity to make his name known and worked relentlessly for the issues he considered essential to the gay community. His dedication to the people of the Castro earned him the title "Mayor of Castro Street". It is probably true that he coined the phrase himself, but he loved the title and played the role well. He pioneered in new forms of coalition politics, getting support from labor unions in exchange for getting the gay community to boycott Coors beer. He engineered a political alliance between the gay and Chinese communities. He achieved several important victories for the emerging gay political movement by leading the fight against anti-gay attacks from State Senator Briggs and others. But it was his charm, his sparkling eyes, his smile, his goodness and his warmth that endeared him to the people of the Castro and eventually to the entire city. Finally in 1977, he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. FORWARD TO NEXT MILK PAGE BACK TO MILK INDEX BACK TO CASTRO STREET This page created June 19, 1996 and updated April 20, 1999 • Text and Graphics © 1996 - 1999 • UD Graphics • San Francisco •