Corinne Grinapol - Harvey Milk: Pioneering Gay Politician

Published in 2015 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2015 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grinapol, Corinne.
Harvey Milk: pioneering gay politician/Corinne Grinapol. First edition.
pages cm.(Remarkable LGBTQ lives)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4777-7899-9 (library bound)
1. Milk, HarveyJuvenile literature. 2. Politicians CaliforniaSan FranciscoBiographyJuvenile literature.
3. Gay politiciansCaliforniaSan FranciscoBiography Juvenile literature. 4. San Francisco (CalifPolitics and government20th centuryJuvenile literature. 5. San Francisco (Calif.)BiographyJuvenile literature. 6. Gay liberation movementCaliforniaSan FranciscoHistory 20th centuryJuvenile literature. I. Title.
F869.S353M5454 2014
979.461053092dc23 [B]

2014010437

Manufactured in the United States of America

H arvey Milk lived during a time when being openly gay was dangerous. When a gay persons homosexuality was discovered, he could lose his job, go to jail, or, in some cases, be killed. Although Harvey Milk never hid the fact that he was gay, he preferred to keep his sexuality under wraps in his early years. During his youth and early adulthood, in many ways, Milk was very different from the man he would become later on.

Decades of moving around the country, switching jobs and careers, and years of general restlessness would end when Milk moved to San Francisco for good. There, he finally figured out who he was and what he wanted to do. Milk went from being a man who kept quiet about his homosexuality to a man who fought on behalf of what would come to be known as the gay and lesbian community. He went from being a man who supported Republican politicians to someone who became a politician himselfa liberal one.

Harvey Milks political career and ambitions were cut short when he was tragically assassinated in 1978, but his story continues to inspire new generations.

Once Harvey Milk got his first chance to run for office, he knew that this was what he was meant to do. Despite some early defeats, Milk never gave up, and his persistence would lead him to become San Franciscos first openly gay elected politician.

Sadly, Milks life was cut short when he was assassinated less than a year after his election, but despite his short time in office, he would make an impact that is still felt today.

Harvey Milk became a symbol of inspiration and hope for the gay and lesbian community, both during his life and after. He spent so little time in office, so many years of his life unsure of himself, unsure of what he was meant to do, yet he radically transformed both himself and his community.

H arvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, at Woodmere General Hospital, Long Island, New York. He was the younger of two sons born to Minerva and William Milk. The Milk last name hadnt existed in Harvey Milks family until his grandfather, Morris Milch, immigrated from Lithuania to the United States, at which point the name was changed from Milch to Milk.

Harvey Milk grew up in Woodmere, a suburban community on Long Island. He was an unusual kid. There was his appearance, for example. He had big features: big ears, big feet, and a big nose. He would get teased for his looks, but Harvey knew how to fight back with humor and liked the attention he got from making people laugh. He loved opera. When he was young, Harvey would tune into radio broadcasts of opera performances. When he was in junior high school, he switched from listening on the radio to listening live. He would take the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan, where he took in performances at the Metropolitan Opera House in the standing-room-only section. It was around this time that Harvey started to realize he might be gay.

A row of houses line a residential block in Woodmere, Long Island

The Milk family moved to Bay Shore, Long Island, for Harveys high school years. Bay Shore is an hour farther from Manhattan but opened Harvey up to an entirely new world. Bay Shore had ferry service to Fire Island, a popular vacation spot for actors, writers, and the wealthy. Harvey would sometime take trips to the island to explore a world of people unlike the ones he knew from his middle-class suburban world.

At Bay Shore High School, Harvey remained firmly in the closet to avoid potential bullying. He was involved in multiple sports, such as being a linebacker for the junior varsity football team and playing basketball, for which his height was an advantage. Harvey wasnt particularly gifted at sports, but he worked hard. He worked hard in academics as well and graduated a year early in June 1947.

Albany, New York, is home to SUNY Albany, where Milk attended college, and SUNY Plaza, the seat of administration for the entire New York system.

Milk attended New York State College for Teachers at Albany, now known as the State University of New York at Albany. He majored in math and minored in history, planning to become a teacher when he graduated. His interest in sports followed him to college, and he quickly involved himself in campus life. He played on intramural teams in basketball, volleyball, and softball, and wrote about sports for the college paper, State College News. He also joined Kappa Beta, a Jewish fraternity, and he was the coach of his fraternitys intramural basketball team during his junior year. While at college, Milk suffered his first political defeat: a run for freshman class president. Although Milks main focus for the paper was sports, his interest in politics was growing. He wrote opinion pieces on issues important to him, such as an article against hazing. It wasnt his extracurricular activities, however, that made Milk memorable to his classmates years laterit was his outgoing nature and outsized personality.

Harvey Milk graduated college in June 1951, but his path from graduation to teaching was interrupted by world events. By the time Milk graduated, war had broken out in Korea, and the United States was involved in helping the South Koreans face off against the Communists in the North. For Milk, there was little doubt about enlisting. The war was a chance to fulfill his patriotic duty and stop the Communists. He enlisted in the United States Navy, quickly moving up the ranks until he became the chief petty officer of submarine rescue vessel USS