May 25, 2014
Harvey Milk Stamp is Big Seller in San Francisco's Castro Neighborhood
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.
SAN FRANCISCO - The post office in San Francisco's Castro District is selling more stamps than usual now that a neighborhood icon is the face of the nation's newest "Forever" stamp.
The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday began issuing stamps honoring the slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who was one of the first openly gay men elected to public office and represented the Castro before he was assassinated in 1978.
AIDS Memorial Quilt creator Cleve Jones, who was an aide to Milk, and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for the 2008 movie "Milk," joined dozens of people who lined up at the Castro post office to buy the new stamp.
Thursday would have been Milk's 84th birthday. He and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were shot to death at City Hall by Dan White, a former city supervisor.
On what would have been his 84th birthday, the Harvey Milk stamp was dedicated in his honor at the White House. A number of distinguished guests attended the ceremony, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Representative John Lewis, and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman.
