Randy Shilts (1951–1994) was a pioneering gay American journalist and author. who worked as a freelance reporter for both The Advocate and the San Francisco Chronicle as“ the first openly gay reporter with a gay “beat“ in the American mainstream press. He wrote three best-selling, widely acclaimed books: The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic and Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. SF Bay Times Article
Find his plaque at 19th and Castro Sts