Salt Lake City votes to name street near Mormon HQ after Harvey Milk
A street in Salt Lake City near the Mormon church’s headquarters will be named after gay rights hero Harvey Milk – after a unanimous council vote.
LGBT rights group Equality Utah spearheaded the proposal to rename 900 South as ‘Harvey Milk Boulevard’.
Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California in 1977, after three unsuccessful attempts to gain office, but only held his position for 11 months before being assassinated by Dan White – a former colleague who had lost his position in city administration.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which remains militantly opposed to most LGBT rights, has its global headquarters just a few miles down the road.
After the plan gained support from Salt Lake City’s mayor, the city council this week unanimously voted to name a street after the assassinated rights hero.
Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams said previously: “I think 10 years from now, 20 years from now Harvey Milk won’t just be an icon for the LGBT community.
“Harvey Milk will be an icon for all Americans and all Utahns. I think in time, all of Utah will be proud to have a street named after him.”
Harvey Milk Boulevard will join a list of streets in Salt Lake City to have been named after civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Rosa Parks Boulevard.
In 2014, the US post office unveiled a range of stamps to honour and thank Harvey Milk for his help in ‘liberating gay couples.’
