Jose Julio Sarria, a legendary San Francisco drag queen who made history as the first openly gay person to seek political office in America, died Monday, August 19. He was 90.
“He paved the way for my uncle, Harvey Milk, to run for public office by being the first openly gay man to put his name on the 1961 ballot and was right there to support Harvey’s first campaign in 1973,” Stuart Milk said in a statement.