Leading a Legacy

LEADING A LEGACY

The influential life and untimely death of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office, propelled him to iconic status as a hero to the LGBTQ+ + community.

BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR

THE DAY WAS JUNE 25, 1978.

The event was Gay Freedom Day in San Francisco, Calif. Several speakers had their turn at the podium on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. Then Harvey Milk, newly elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, walked up on the stage. He looked out into the crowd, paused to take it all in, and then began to speak: “My name is Harvey Milk, and I am here to recruit you.”

The crowd cheered for his now-famous catchphrase.

Milk garnered national attention months earlier, when he was sworn in as first openly gay man elected to public office. “Why are we here? Why are gay people here?” Milk asked. ““Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people’s opinion. …Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice.”

Milk was specifically speaking in opposition of Proposition 6, also named the Briggs Initiative after the bill’s sponsor, state lawmaker John Briggs. Proposition 6 would have made it unlawful for homosexual people to work in public schools and required their immediate termination. “The anger and the frustrations that some of us feel is because we are misunderstood. And friends can't feel that anger and frustration,” he continued. “They can sense it in us, but they can’t feel it. Because a friend has never gone through what is known as “coming out.” I will never forget what it was like coming out and having nobody to look up toward. I remember the lack of hope, and our friends can't fulfill it. I can’t forget the looks on the faces of people who have lost hope…"

His speech became instantly famous, quickly becoming known nationwide as the Hope Speech. “And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow… Without hope, not only are the gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the ‘us-es.’ The ‘uses’ will give up.” He concluded: “And you, and you, and you — you have to give people hope.”

Five months later, just steps from where the Hope Speech was delivered, Milk was assassinated in his office in City Hall. He was shot five times — twice in the head — by Dan White, a disgruntled former Board Supervisor, over a conflict.

Milk’s elected office was brief, but his words and legacy, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, will live forever.

In the 44 years after his death, Milk has been honored, remembered, commemorated, and celebrated in numerous forms. On June 26, 2022, the parents of Matthew Shepard, a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die on October 6, 1998, and Bay area children read the Harvey Milk Hope speech; the portions quoted above appear in the short video. On November 25, the five individuals killed at a gay nightclub in Colorado earlier that week were remembered at a march commemorating the anniversary of Milk’s death. He’s been the subject of books, plays, movies, U.S. postage stamps, and even the naming of a naval ship.

What made Harvey Milk so impactful? He came out of the closet at age 40, shortly before his activism began in San Francisco, and was dead at 48. Embrace Magazine researched his life and spoke with current day leaders in the LGBTQ+ community to pay homage to the fallen hero.

LEGENDARY ICON

According to The Official Harvey Milk Biography from the Harvey Milk Foundation (HMF), “Harvey Milk was a visionary civil and human rights leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.” At a time when the LGBTQ+ community was facing widespread hostility and prejudice, Milk’s remarkable outspoken declaration of his authenticity as an out gay candidate for public office and his subsequent win brought never-before-seen hope to LGBTQ+ people all across the world.

“Harvey Milk is the LGBTQ+ global icon. He lived his life as an example of what true authenticity is about. He championed the concept that if the world sees us, they will begin to accept us,” said Miriam Richter, Esq., Director and Counsel, Harvey Milk Foundation. “He was the first politician elected as an open LGBTQ+ person who made it a talking point, not a side issue as others before him had. He knew that his authenticity and openness made him a target and he did not shy away from it, showing a courage that speaks volumes to all minimalized and marginalized people worldwide. The movement that he spearheaded continues because of the fearless belief he championed - that every individual is created equally, and everyone should be able to live a safe and authentic life.”

According to the HMF Official Biography, Milk moved to San Francisco in 1973, where he opened a camera store on Castro Street, in the heart of the city’s growing gay community. Milk and a few other company owners created the Castro Village Association, a first in the country organization of primarily LGBT businesses, with Milk serving as president, after some local business owners attempted to stop two gay men from opening a store. In an e ort to boost economic activity in the neighborhood, he staged the Castro Street Fair in 1974. Due to its success, the Castro Village Association became a stronghold for gay business owners and served as a model for other LGBT communities in the US.

“Harvey Milk’s name is forever synonymous with activism, with leadership, and with sacri ce,” said Justin Nelson, co-founder, and president of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “He famously said, ‘We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.’ He has inspired millions to be out, proud, and nd comfort in community. There would not be a Pete Buttigieg, a Tammy Baldwin, or most of the out leaders in America today if he hadn’t blazed a path for all of us to follow.”

A dedication to servicing a diverse constituency, not simply LGBT individuals, contributed to Milk's success as a supervisor.

According to the HMF Official Biography, his expansive reform agenda included safeguarding gay rights (he sponsored a significant anti-discrimination bill), opening daycare facilities for working mothers, converting military housing in the city into affordable housing, changing the tax code to draw business to vacant warehouses and factories.

He exerted considerable pressure on the mayor’s office to enhance services for the Castro, including library services and community policing, as he was a fervent supporter of strong, safe neighborhoods. Additionally, he advocated for state and federal problems that a ected LGBT people, women, members of racial and ethnic minorities, as well as other underrepresented groups.

“There’s power in being the first. First man on the moon. First woman to win an Oscar. First Black American President. Those are monumental moments that reshape our society and give rise to a new generation of leaders who finally believe they can be anything they set their minds to,” said Brandon Wolf, press secretary for Equality Florida.

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

This illustrated children’s book, by Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno, tells the story of how Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag at Harvey’s as a gesture of equality and pride. It covers events from the 1970s marches through the 2015 installation of rainbow lights in the White House.

“Harvey Milk was our community’s rst. He was California’s rst openly gay man to be elected in California. But it was not simply his status as rst that has ingrained him as a hero in our community. He was bold and audacious, leading not with his LGBTQ+ identity as an afterthought, but with a erce commitment to the wellbeing of others in the community. He fought back tirelessly against anti-LGBTQ bigotry and pioneered San Francisco’s nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation. Harvey Milk challenged the status quo and was unapologetic in his demand for a better future for LGBTQ+ people in this country. For that, he is a hero.”

LEGACY IMMORTALIZED

“Harvey is such an important pioneer and hero, having put himself out there to further the cause for LGBTQ+ rights at a time when the majority in our country was against him and us as LGBTQ+ people,” said Matt Skallerud, president of Pink Media. “He pursued LGBTQ+ rights, knowing he was putting himself in harm’s way, and sadly, the worst came to pass. I think he’ll always be remembered as a true LGBTQ+ hero who gave his life for our cause and progress in society today.”

Milk has won praise for his imaginative daring and dedication to equality. The LGBTQ pride ag’s rainbow colors can be seen as a vertical strip in the top left corner of a stamp that the USPS released in his honor in 2014. Although there have been other LGBTQ people featured on U.S. stamps, this is the rst time an activist for LGBTQ rights is included.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2009. As “a symbol of what gays might accomplish and the perils they confront in doing so,” he was named one of Time’s “100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century.”

“Harvey Milk is a hero for the LGBTQ+ community because he unapologetically lived his authentic life as a public official and as an activist,” said Justin Ayars, equalityMD, founder and CEO. “He paved the way for future generations of LGBTQ+ Americans to serve their communities as elected officials (like Secretary Buttigieg) and as political activists. He spoke out about human rights issues our community faced at a time when it wasn’t safe to come out of the closet. While his voice was untimely silenced, his message and legacy endures.”

Important musical works were also inspired by Milk’s murder. Holly Near, a lesbian singer-songwriter, wrote “Singing For Our Lives,” also known as “Song for Harvey Milk,” as soon as she learned of the murder. It has the following title in the official publication of the Unitarian Universalist Association: “We Are a Gentle, Angry People.” With additional lines always being added, the song spread beyond the LGBTQ rights movement to other justice organizations. Countless marches and religious gatherings have performed it. On a 2015 film commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first nationwide protest against the Vietnam War, Near introduces and sings it.

In 2019, six decades after Milk was expelled from the Navy for being gay, work on a ship bearing his name began. He made history by becoming the first openly gay person to have a Navy ship named in his honor. It was a significant accomplishment when they named a ship after the LGBTQrights icon given the lengthy history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the U.S. military, which includes an estimated 100,000 service members who were discharged because of their sexual orientation.

“Harvey Milk’s relentless honesty, leadership, and tenacity for equality for all, made him a classic hero,” said Herb Sosa, director and CEO of Unity Coalition, Celebrate Orgullo, and publisher of Ambiente Magazine. “Unfortunately, his early death and martyr status certainly adds to this title. It is up to all of us to keep his ideals and energy alive, and to inspire new generations to continue in this effort for true equality for all.”

HARVEY’S HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY

SOURCE: LAUREN BECK; ABRONORTH.WEEBLY.COM

May 22, 1930: Harvey Milk is born in Woodmere, New York. By high school, he understands he's gay, but keeps that knowledge to himself.

1951: After graduating New York State Teachers College in Albany with a degree in mathematics, Milk joins the Navy, serving as an expert deep-sea diver.

1955: Despite his skill and clean record, Milk is less-than-honorably discharged due to his sexual orientation.

He moves to New York City, where he becomes a high school math teacher and basketball coach.

1970: Milk finally has the courage to come out after more than 25 years in the closet. He soon moves to the Castro in San Francisco, where he would develop an interest in city politics.

1973: Milk runs for a seat on San Francisco's board of supervisors for the first time. He loses by a landslide, but continues to gain a reputation in the San Francisco gay community for his outspoken activism.

1977: In his fourth run for public office, Milk is finally elected to the district's board of supervisors, making him the first openly gay man to win a public election in the US.

Nov. 7, 1978: Milk protests and defeats a proposed bill to remove all gay teachers and gay rights supporters from schools. It was one of Milk's greatest accomplishments during his short time in office.

Nov. 27, 1978: Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone are assassinated at City Hall. Over 30,000 people peacefully march from Castro Street to City Hall and hold a candlelight vigil.

May 21, 1979: Milk's assailant, Dan White, is convicted of voluntary manslaughter (rather than the original charge of first-degree murder) and sentenced to just seven years in prison the day before what would have been Milk's 49th birthday. Thousands are furious and their protests at City Hall turned violent. The reactions from that day are now known as the White Night Riots.

PHOTO BY CRAWFORD WAYNE BARTON/GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

3 FACTS ABOUT MILK

1 HE ONCE WORKED ON WALL STREET AND BROADWAY.

A man with numerous interests, Harvey Milk loved opera, participated in a variety of sports, and wrote newspaper columns in college. While in New York, Milk held a variety of jobs, such as Wall Street research analyst, public school teacher, and associate Broadway producer.

2 HE WAS ONCE A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN.

In 1977, Milk was a Democrat, but his earlier political ventures were much different. In fact, he had been sought out to serve on Republican Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964. What made him change sides? The Vietnam War. “The day Nixon invaded Cambodia was the day I had to speak out against war profiteers, large corporations and so forth,” Milk told NBC News in 1978. “And so, I got rid of my Wall Street career … and when I walked through that door, I kept walking.”

3 HE WAS A “MAYOR” BEFORE HE EVER HELD OFFICE.

Castro Street had already established itself as a center for San Francisco’s gay population by the time Milk settled there in 1973, but he still found a way to make his mark. He and his partner established Castro Camera, a modest picture developing store that became a hub for the community. The shop doubled as Milk’s campaign headquarters during his half-decade of campaigns, earning him the moniker “The Mayor of Castro Street.”

Read More: The Mayor of Castro Street

Randy Shilts, one of the first openly homosexual reporters at a major newspaper, wrote the uncensored account of success, sorrow, and political intrigue. It was initially published in 1982 and is now considered the definitive biography of Milk.

PHOTO BY BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES.