2. Harvey Milk would’ve been 85 years old on 22 May 2015… Had he not been shot and killed in 1978. So who was he?

3. Was born in New York in 1930. Was a son to William and Minerva. Was a brother to Robert. Was an uncle to Stuart. Worked in the Navy and later as a teacher. Became an elected politician in San Francisco in 1977 – this made international news. Why? Harvey Milk was a gay man. Harvey Milk:

4. Gay adjective : being attracted to (or fancying) people of the same gender only

5. As with many gay people, Harvey knew he was gay by the time he was at high school. Question: Do you think that students in this school who are gay can be open about it?

6. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat in San Francisco in 1977.

7. Making sure he represented ALL people in his constituency made Harvey Milk a popular figure. He campaigned on a variety of issues: Day care centres for working mums Low cost housing Safe neighbourhoods for everyone Freedom and fairness for all people Anne Kronenberg (his final campaign manager) wrote of him: “He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us.”

8. At a time when gay people had little or no legal rights, Harvey Milk spoke out for fairness and equality – urging others to do the same. He said: “Gay people, we will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. … We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I’m going to talk about it. And I want you to talk about it. You must come out.”

9. Coming Out verb : to openly say – or admit to yourself – that you are gay

10. At that time there was a lot of hatred directed at gay people in general and Milk in particular. He received daily death threats and was aware of the likelihood that he may well be assassinated. That happened in 1978.

11. It is because of Harvey Milk and others like him that in the UK today, we now have equal rights for everybody, including gay people. Question: What reaction will you give to a person who “comes out” as gay?

12. Find out more: About Harvey Milk:About local services for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) young people: www.lgbtyouthnorthwest.org.uk milkfoundation.org