Harvey Milk (1930-1978), a San Francisco city politician, helped open the door for gays and lesbians in the United States by bringing civil rights for homosexuals, among many other issues, to the political table. Since Milk's murder in 1978, he has remained a symbol of activism.

Although there are still relatively few openly gay politicians in the United States, their numbers would be even fewer had it not been for Harvey Milk. His 1977 election to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors brought a message of hope to gays and lesbians across the country. Milk served as a city supervisor for less than a year before being murdered along with Mayor George Moscone by a rival politician, but he was instrumental in bringing the gay rights agenda to the attention of the American public. Milk was not a one-issue politician, however. For him, gay issues were merely one part of an...