The Senate has passed a resolution urging the secretary of the Navy to name the next appropriate ship after Harvey Milk, the LGBT civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1978 at San Francisco’s City Hall.
Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) who authored the resolution said, “Harvey Milk was a trailblazing influence in state and national politics for the advancement of full equality for LGBT Americans. It is important that the legacy of Harvey Milk and other LGBT civil rights leaders be recognized to inspire future generations. I particularly want to thank the Harvey Milk Foundation and the International Court Council for spearheading this effort.”
Harvey Milk’s career as a public servant did not begin in politics, but in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He served aboard the submarine rescue ship USS Kittiwake as a diving officer and was later transferred to the San Diego Naval Station to serve as a diving instructor. In 1955, he was honorably discharged from the Navy.
Harvey Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of the 20th century. Numerous facilities and organizations are named after him, including the Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Center. The state of California has designated May 22 annually as “Harvey Milk Day” and he has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. The nation’s first Harvey Milk Street was unveiled in Hillcrest, San Diego earlier this year.
