May 22 – It is Harvey Milk Day!


May 22, 1930 is the day that Harvey Milk was born. It is also Harvey Milk Day. Harvey was a gay rights activist in the 1970s who was the first openly elected gay city supervisor in San Francisco. He is responsible for passing several gay rights ordinances and is celebrated as one of the most famous openly gay politicians within the US. I admit I knew little about Harvey Milk before the making of the movie Milk, starring Sean Penn, but today is his day. This was made by the Harvey Milk Foundation, which itself was founded in 2009 Stuart Milk, Harvey’s nephew and Harvey’s political aide, Anne Kronenberg.


If you are unaware, there is a children’s book titled Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag that was written Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno. This is a great story on Harvey and talks about the positives of love, hope, equality, and pride. I just received this myself and will be doing a video on it soon. Check it out when you get a chance. It is available on Amazon on both digital and printed formats: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399555315/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3rcbBbGTHPACJ


Unfortunately Harvey was assassinated in 1978, after only serving 11 months in office. In his time, he influenced many people to sway from hate and inspired others to help with the rights of all LGBT of the world. This is not a national holiday or even a day that many even know about about, but it is something to think about, even just for a few seconds. Harvey should be recognized for his achievements. It may seem insignificant, but I just bought a book of Harvey Milk stamps.
This stamp is available on the USPS website: www.Store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/harvey-milk-S_472004.