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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Milk, Harvey (1930-1978) "Gayvote" [Volume 1, No. 1, January 1978]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09871.07 Author/Creator: Milk, Harvey (1930-1978) Place Written: San Francisco, California Type: Booklet Date: January 1978 Pagination: 4 p. ; 28 x 21.5 cm. Order a Copy

One issue of "Gayvote" dated January 1978. Cover page consists of Harvey Milk's swearing in at City Hall on January 9, 1978, followed by a news article covering the event. Other articles within the documents are: feature on the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club; highlight of Assembly Bill 1107 which would raise the BART fares; boycotting Coors beer who made financial contributions to organizations "which oppose the rights of women, third-world and gay people."

Harvey Milk (1930-1978) born in Woodmere, New York was the first openly gay American politician to be elected to an official position in California's history. He had moved to San Francisco in 1972. While in office, Milk was able to pass a bill that banned discrimination in housing and employment based on someone's sexual orientation. In November 27, 1978, he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a former city employee who had wanted his job back after a failed venture in the private sector.

Milk, Harvey, 1930-1978
Moscone, George, 1929-1978
Marks, Milton, 1920-1998
McCarthy, Leo T., 1930-2007

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