Foreshadowing his historic election three decades later as the first openly gay person to hold public office in San Francisco and California, Milk took an interest in student government. Although he lost his bid for freshman class president, he thrived in athletics, competing on the intercollegiate wrestling team and participating in intramural basketball, volleyball, and softball.
“He was known for being outspoken — a trait that became a hallmark of his public life — and a prankster,” noted the university’s magazine in an online feature about Milk, available at magazine.albany.edu/mini/harvey-milk.
The university has honored its distinguished alumnus through various initiatives over the years. In fall 2021, it established Harvey House, an on-campus housing community dedicated to supporting LGBTQ students.
“Harvey Milk has always been an inspiration to me, and his work is a guiding light. The goal was to create a space where LGBTQ students could thrive and succeed,” shared Jake Evans, a 2022 graduate and founder of Harvey House, in an interview with UAlbany Magazine.
Each spring, the university honors a former student with the Harvey Milk Alumnus Award during its Lavender Graduation ceremony for LGBTQ students. This award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to social justice after graduation.
This year, the university introduced the Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership to acknowledge current students who promote LGBTQIA+ inclusiveness on campus. Applications opened on Monday, November 18, and are open to full-time upperclassmen committed to fostering a more inclusive community.
“Harvey Milk was a champion of LGBTQIA+ rights during a time when many in the LGBTQIA+ community had to hide who they truly were because of hatred. He fought for the right of the LGBTQIA+ community to exist and find acceptance in the United States,” stated State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. in announcing the new award in June during Pride Month. “Across the SUNY system, countless students who have and will continue to follow in the footsteps of Harvey Milk and other pioneers to ensure LGBTQIA+ rights are not eroded, and all are welcome and feel included on SUNY campuses.”
Gay New York state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who was reelected this month to his seat representing Manhattan’s West Side, had hailed the new honor for the university’s gay alumnus now celebrated globally as an LGBTQ civil rights icon.
“As an out member of the NYS Senate, I’m hopeful that the new SUNY Harvey Milk Scholarship will help provide the resources for future generations of deserving SUNY students to complete their studies and continue to advance the cause of LGBTQIA + human rights,” Hoylman-Sigal had stated in June.
Milk graduated from the public teachers college in 1951 with a mathematics degree and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as his parents had done. It would lead to his being stationed in San Diego, where he was a diving instructor.
After he was given an “other than honorable” discharge in 1955 due to his sexuality, Milk returned to his old haunts near his hometown of Woodmere, New York. He would return to California in the 1970s, this time moving to San Francisco. After establishing himself as a business owner and civic leader of the then-burgeoning LGBTQ Castro neighborhood, Milk won election to his supervisor seat in 1977.
Tragically, 11 months into his term, Milk was assassinated inside City Hall along with then-mayor George Moscone. The 1978 deaths of the two progressive politicians stunned the city and nation, and their indelible mark they left behind is annually honored during the Milk-Moscone candlelight vigil held around Thanksgiving week.
Hosted by the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, this year’s event is taking place on the eve of the federal holiday. It will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 27, at Harvey Milk Plaza above the Castro Muni station at the corner of Castro and Market streets.
“I think this memorial is always a reminder of the nonlinear path of history, you know, and the fact the queer community has seen real progress and real setbacks, you know, often happening within months of each other or years,” said gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, a former Milk club president.
Serving in the seat that Milk had once held, when it was known as the District 5 seat, Mandelman plans to speak at this year’s vigil. He told the Bay Area Reporter the somber memorial is taking on renewed meaning following the November 5 election that returned Republican President-elect Donald Trump to the White House.
The Trump administration next year is expected to unleash a broad assault against LGBTQ rights. Transgender Americans are particularly in its crosshairs, with the GOP leader pledging to curtail their access to gender-affirming health care and rescind their non-discrimination protections. (See related story.)
“This is a community that makes progress and experiences setbacks, and we persevere because we have to,” said Mandelman. “But our history hasn’t always moved forward in a way we want it to.”
Perhaps no time is more important than today to recall Milk’s now-famous mantras about providing those marginalized by society a reason not to despair and give up. As Milk said 46 years ago during his inauguration as a new supervisor, “I will fight to give those people who had once walked away hope, so that those people will walk back in.”
Web Extra: Stay informed with the latest queer political news by visiting ebar.com every Monday morning for Political Notes, the online companion to the Bay Area Reporter. This week’s column highlights local races featuring LGBTQ candidates across the Bay Area.
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Have a tip about LGBTQ politics? Reach out to Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or via email at m.bajko@ebar.com.
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