Scott Smith (activist)
{{Short description|American gay rights activist (1948–1995)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Scott Smith
| image = Scott Smith pushing shopping cart with Castro Camera signs at Gay Freedom Day Parade.jpg
| alt =
| caption =Scott Smith pushing shopping cart with Castro Camera signs at Gay Freedom Day Parade, 1976
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1948|10|21|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Key West, Florida, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|2|4|1948|10|21|mf=y}}
| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for = Relationship with and campaign manager for Harvey Milk, LGBT rights activism
| notable_works =
}}
Joseph Scott Smith (October 21, 1948 — February 4, 1995){{ cite web | title=Joseph S. Smith
| url = https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/58196584:3693
| via = ancestry.com | url-access= subscription | date= 2014 | work = U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014 | type= database record
| author=((Social Security Administration))
}} was a gay rights activist best known for his romantic relationship with Harvey Milk, for whom he was a campaign manager.
Biography
Smith was born in Key West, Florida, and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi.{{cite news |title=Scott Smith — Harvey Milk Friend |newspaper=SFGate |date=February 7, 1995 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Scott-Smith-Harvey-Milk-Friend-3046027.php }} He then attended Memphis State University for three years before moving to New York City in 1969, where he met Harvey Milk, moving with him to San Francisco three years later, where the couple founded Castro Camera. Harvey Milk and Scott Smith were engaged in a romantic relationship for 7 years.
File:Scott Smith at 575 Castro Street.jpg
Smith was instrumental to Milk's career as an activist and politician. He organized and managed Milk's campaigns for public office from 1974 to 1977 and his influence was widely in evidence after Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Smith was well known for orchestrating the Coors boycott and putting Milk at the forefront of the issue, creating one of the first public displays of power by the gay community.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} Milk was responsible for uniting gay establishments against Coors by refusing to sell Coors products.
There are hundreds of images of Smith, taken by Milk and others, in the Harvey Milk Archives/Scott Smith Collection at the San Francisco Public Library. After being discharged from the United States Navy, Milk spent many hours taking pictures. Smith was his favorite model; sometimes Milk spent entire rolls of film just taking pictures of Smith.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/the-coors-boycott-the-lgbt-movement-and-the-peoples-counter-offensive-against-the-right/|title=The Coors Boycott: The LGBTQ movement and people's...|last=Staff|first=Liberation|date=2015-07-29|website=Liberation News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-20}} Smith's friends and family nicknamed him "The Widow Milk" because of the dedication he had to archiving Harvey Milk's photos and belongings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Scott-Smith-Harvey-Milk-Friend-3046027.php|title=Scott Smith -- Harvey Milk Friend|date=February 7, 1995}}
Smith fell into a very deep depression after Milk was killed. With Frank M. Robinson, he was the executor of Milk's last will and testament.{{cite book |author=Randy Shilts |author-link=Randy Shilts |title=The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk |url=https://archive.org/details/mayorofcastrostr00shil_0 |url-access=registration |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-3125-2331-2 }}
Smith died of pneumonia, resulting from HIV/AIDS,{{cite web |url=http://www.focusfeatures.com/article/where_are_they_now_ |title=Where Are They Now? |author=Nick Dawson |publisher=Focus Features |date=November 25, 2008 |accessdate=August 23, 2015 }} on February 4, 1995, at the age of 46. Family and friends of Smith wanted his life to be honored by donating to his favorite charities; the Salvation Army, San Francisco's AIDS Foundation and the Women's Cancer Resource Center in Oakland.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Scott-Smith-Harvey-Milk-s-widow-3151991.php|title = Scott Smith, Harvey Milk's|date = February 7, 1995}}
Portrayal in popular culture
In the 2008 feature film Milk, the role of Smith was played by James Franco.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Harvey Milk}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Scott}}
Category:People from Key West, Florida
Category:People from Jackson, Mississippi
Category:LGBTQ people from Florida
Category:LGBTQ people from Mississippi
Category:LGBTQ people from California
Category:American LGBTQ rights activists
Category:Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area