Harvey Milk Statue

Category: Statue

Nearly 30 years after his death, Harvey Milk has a memorial to commemorate his services to San Francisco. The city hall bust stands over almost 6-feet high and was sculpted by the award winning Daub, Firmin, Hendrickson Sculpture Group, of Berkeley. The total costs relating to the statue cost $84,000 and were obtained privately. Considered the first openly gay politician to hold an office of any significant status, Milk was elected to the city’s board of supervisors in 1977 and quickly fell at odds with conservative Supervisor Dan White. White and Milk often clashed with one another politically and quickly, White found himself isolated on the left-leaning board. Disgruntled at Mayor George Moscone for not giving him his job back after an impetuous resignation, White shot both Milk and Moscone at City Hall on 27 November 1978. Shock changed to rage when White was sentenced to a mere seven years for the double-assassination. On May 21, 1979, shortly after the verdict was known, groups from the Castro marched to City Hall and in an a show of anger resulting in what has become known as the White Knight Riots. The statue was unveiled on May 22, which would have been his 78th birthday.