This is a short children's biography about an early Gay Rights activist. Harvey was born in New York in 1930. His grandparents were immigrants, but his parents had made a comfortable lifestyle as the owners of a dry goods store. Harvey was a teen when he first suspected that he was gay, but kept it a secret as he went to teacher's college and then joined the military. While in the military he heard that in San Francisco gay people could live openly without as much persecution as in some other parts of the country. Harvey and his partner moved to San Francisco and opened a camera shop. While in San Francisco Harvey got interested in politics. After several failed attempts, he was eventully elected to the city board of directors. He was one of the first openly gay people to be elected to public office at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in many states. Tragically, after only a short time in office Harvey milk was assasinated by a disgruntled political rival.
Sometimes when I know one of my holds will come available soon, I read one of the short biographies in the "Who Was" series while I am waiting. I chose this one because I didn't recognized the name in the title. It was interesting, and it reminded me of how gays people were looked on when I was a child. Society really has come a long way in accepting a variety of sexual orientations. This book contains some side bars that explain, on a child's level, about the LGBTQ commmunity and history. It might be good for parents to be on hand to explain things if a young reader hasen't been exposed to the topic before. (112 p. 2020)
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