How a loud, campy, camera shop owner became a civil rights icon.

Dany and Claire head to San Francisco’s Castro District in the late 1970s to meet Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. But before he was a political icon, Milk was a long-haired, opera-loving math nerd who bounced between coasts and careers — from Navy diver to Goldwater Conservative to anti-establishment agitator.

In this first part of our deep dive into the life of Harvey Milk, we explore the cultural history of the Castro, Milk’s unexpected political awakening, and how he built a coalition of queers, hippies, and union workers to become known as the Mayor of Castro Street. Along the way, we talk gayborhoods, white flight, Navy resignations, camera stores, and the hard work of hope.

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Music by Master Planned Music

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