Kaitlin Kelsch

Professor Hailey Haffey

ENGL 2850 Intro to Queer Studies

February 22nd, 2017

A Sea of Candlelight:

Harvey Milks Work and Legacy

On November 27th, 1978, thousands of individuals, walking in solemn and grief-stricken

silence, participate in a candlelight vigil running from The Castro, San Franciscos primary gay

district, to City Hall (Official Harvey Milk Biography). What was the cause of such devastation?

Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, both of whom were instrumental in

passing San Franciscos first city-wide bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual

orientation (Ledbetter A21), were both brutally slain at their offices (Official Harvey Milk

Biography). Even worse, it was Dan White, a fellow colleague of theirs who they had worked

with personally and on a daily basis, who had gunned them down (Official Harvey Milk

Biography).

To the gay community of San Francisco, nothing would ever be the same. The pain was

especially felt for the untimely death of Supervisor Harvey Milk, a 48 year-old openly-gay man

from Woodmere, New York who rose to become the voice of a burgeoning revolution (Official

Harvey Milk Biography). Charming, charismatic, and theatrical, Harvey Milk first rose to

notoriety as he was running for City Supervisor in 1973 (Official Harvey Milk Biography).

Although he wouldnt be elected to office until 1977 (Official Harvey Milk Biography), his

subsequent campaigns after the 1973 election cemented his status as one of the first major

figures of the modern gay rights movement, if not the man whose work allows us to even talk

about gay rights, at all.

 In fact, its astonishing that his story isnt taught more often in public schools. At the

most, his work changed the direction of LGBTQ+ rights forever and, at the least, it demonstrates

the power of what ordinary people can do when they band together for a common cause. By

looking back at the various factors that helped him to become successful, both outside of his

control and both within his control, we can distill his success into a few fundamental principles

and then apply those principles to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights that is occurring today.

So just what was it that made Harvey Milk and the movement he led so influential? In

addition to being a natural-born, media savvy politician and orator, Milk ran at a time when the

politics of San Francisco were changing. People were tired of the old establishment and wanted

something new, something fresh. To many, Milks populist campaign seemed to be the answer.

However, a great portion of Milks success, I believe, rests on his dedication, his ability

to connect with people of all groups, and the overall warmth and sincerity he exuded everywhere

he went. Harvey was unlike any other politician that emerged before him or would emerge

afterwards. Although one could argue that he wasnt in office long enough to become as jaded

and cynical as every other politician out there, he had a grand and far-reaching vision from the

start. Nothing he ever did betrayed that.

First, it is important to understand that Milk could not have picked a better time to

become a politician. The population of the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco was swelling

(Harvey Milk) and people were beginning to elect more liberal leaders. Before Milk came onto

the scene, progress in the realm of San Franciscan gay rights was dominated by the Alice B.

Toklas Memorial Democratic Club (Shilts 63). With a considerable amount of political

maneuvering, Alice (as it was colloquially known) befriended liberal politicians and persuaded
them to sponsor a number of city-wide gay rights bills, such as a bill which forbade employment

discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by city contractors (Shilts 64).

When Alice started to take a more timid and assimilationist approach to police

harassment and raids on gay bars, many in the gay community started to see the club as part of

the establishment that sought to keep them down. By the time Harvey Milk and his boyfriend

Scott Smith settled in San Francisco after years of wandering around California without a plan

(Shilts 46), it seemed as if the forces behind San Franciscan politics had shifted in such a way

that it would ultimately pave the road for his future accomplishments.

Another crucial factor that led to his success was his innate ability to network and

socialize. Soon after Milk and Smith arrived in San Francisco, they opened up a camera shop

with their last thousand dollars in savings (Shilts 65). Castro Camera, as the shop was called

(Milk), became a major center of socialization and activism for San Franciscos gay community

(Official Harvey Milk Biography), as well as the headquarters for all four of Milks campaigns

(Milk). Harvey met some of his closets supporters and allies at the camera shop and it was no

coincidence that they stuck by him all those years. He didnt just provide them with the hope

that they would one day be accepted by the outside world, they also formed a little makeshift

family, a place where they could be themselves without any ire or judgement.

However, just because Harvey was easy to make friends with didnt mean that he had a

high tolerance for bullshit. By the time that Harvey knew that he had to get involved, the amount

of murders and police-related incidents in The Castro had increased dramatically (Milk). Some

were even so scared to go out at night that they carried whistles with them in case they ever

needed to signal for help (Milk). No one felt safe, the police were part of the problem, and

everyone was looking for a symbol that they could rally behind.
 But although Milk was, indeed, fighting against an intense climate of anti-gay bigotry

and discrimination at the time (that, in no way, should be undervalued), its also important to

remember that he wanted to tackle issues like low-cost housing, tax code reformation, and

establishing day-care centers for single mothers, as well (Official Harvey Milk Biography). He

also believed that governments should be receptive to the needs and problems of the people

(Shilts 203), not giant corporations and special interests (Shilts 193-194). It was his good grasp

on the needs of San Franciscos citizens, combined with his infectious appeal, which allowed his

message to be carried across a wide array of social, political, and cultural lines. As Cleve Jones,

Milks political protg, wrote in his 2016 memoir When We Rise, he had a remarkable

ability to meet anyonefind some common ground, and connect...(129) In addition, Harvey

genuinely liked people, all different kinds of peopleHe could find common interest, humor,

and respect talking with just about any type of person one could imagine (129).

In all, Milk ran for Supervisor three times and State Assemblyman once (Official Harvey

Milk Biography), gaining more and more political experience with each race. While it wouldve

been substantially easy for him to have dropped away from the political spotlight at any time

(Scott would leave Harvey over the stress of the campaigning, for instance (Milk), and the

expenses involved couldnt have helped, either), it shows both how suited to political life he was

and how dedicated he was to his cause.

His status as a prominent figure also grew with each race. Taking every opportunity to

promote himself that he could, Milks campaigns were unique in that he got involved at a

grassroots level. He spent hours of handshaking and passing out campaign literature to those at

bus stops and those waiting in lines at movie theaters (FitzGerald 34-70) and he employed a wide
array of unique campaigning strategies, one involving human billboards in which volunteers

would hold up Milk for Assembly signs on busy thoroughfares (Harvey Milk).

Using these methods allowed him to cultivate a personal connection to the constituents he

wished to serve. By the time the ballot changed from a citywide ballot to a district ballot in his

last election (in other words, each neighborhood from within the city would be in charge electing

a representative to City Hall), he no longer had to convince the entire city of San Francisco to

vote for him, he only needed to convince the area of The Castro, who were all pretty much

behind him anyway (Shilts 166).

But once he became the first openly-gay man to be elected to a public office in 1977, he

found that the real work was only beginning. Soon afterwards, California State-Senator John

Briggs, speared on and encouraged by an anti-gay rights movement led by Anita Bryant (Shilts

156), wrote Proposition 6 a proposition which wouldve allowed gay teachers, and any other

public school employee who supported gay rights, for that matter, to be fired on the spot (Shilts

212).

In determination to not let the city of San Francisco vote yes, Harvey and his team

went into overdrive (Shilts 222). Although a slew anti-gay rights ordinances were being passed

around the country, at the time, and the situation looked rather bleak, Harvey had three great

advantages behind him

The first advantage was that he had the news media on his side. His genuine and easy-

going personality had him pegged as a media darling from the start and, knowing this, he was

able to leverage that fame in order to bring more attention to the issues on his platform.

He had also had a reputation for being up to pretty much anything. When the citizens of

San Francisco were polled on the citys number-one issue, their largest complaint, believe it or
not, was a rampant epidemic of left-behind dog shit (Shilts 203). It may seem strange that

anyone, let alone Harvey Milk, would be willing to tackle this issue and yet he did Milk

sponsored a citywide ordinance which required owners to pick up their dogs droppings shortly

afterward (Shilts 203). Remember, that this is Milk that we are talking about, the man who

dressed up as a clown when Barnum and Bailey circus came to town because they had offered to

give San Franciscos public officials a makeover (Shilts 220-221). No opportunity at

publicity, no matter how demeaning that opportunity might be, would Milk leave unturned. He

usually had enough of a good sense of humor that it kept him from being too embarrassed,

anyhow.

The second advantage that he had on his side was his knack for language. In a series of

debates that Harvey had managed to secure against Briggs, he used a mixture of humor, his

understanding of the issues, and recently-published statistics to entirely obliterate Briggs

arguments (Shilts 229-231). In one of the debates, for instance, Briggs tried to argue that letting

homosexuals become teachers would encourage students to become homosexual themselves

(Shilts 230). If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, Harvey responded, youd

sure have a helluva lot more nuns run around. (Shilts 231)

The third advantage was that he was rather renowned for his speeches. Acting on a piece

of constructive criticism that his opponent for State Assemblyman, Art Agnos, gave upon

Harveys defeat, Milk always made sure to imbue his speeches with enthusiasm and a hope for a

better tomorrow (Shilts 142-143). One of the greatest speeches he gave against the Briggs

initiative, perhaps even one of the greatest speeches of his career, was called the Thats What

America Is speech. Delivered at the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade before an enormous

crowd, the speech encourages those in attendance to come out to their friends and family if they
havent have done so, already (Shilts 364-371). The more likely it is that a person knows and

cares for someone who is gay, the less likely it will be that they will vote for anti-gay legislation

to pass.

While it would be impossible to transcribe the entire speech here, the last few paragraphs

of the speech should give you an idea as to how powerful Harvey was in his rhetoric.

On the Statue of Liberty it says: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled

masses yearning to be free in the Declaration of Independence it is written: All

men are created equal and they are endowed with certain unalienable rights And

in our National Anthem it says: Oh, say does that Star - Spangled Banner yet wave

oer the land of the free

For Mr. Briggs and Mrs. Bryantand all the bigots out there: thats what America

is. No matter how hard you try, you cannot erase those words from the Declaration

of Independence. No matter how hard you try, you cannot chip those words from

off the base of the Statue of Liberty. And no matter how hard, you cannot sing the

Star Spangled Banner without those words.

Thats what America is.

Love it or leave it (Shilts 371).

Then, four months later, the moment that they had waited for arrived. Nobody knew

what to expect on the night of November 7th, 1978, but most had been convinced that their

canvassing had been for naught. Imagine their surprise when they learned that Prop 6 was

actually defeated by over a million votes (Harvey Milk)! Not only could the lives and

professional careers of millions of gay, lesbian, and straight people across the state remain intact,
but Harvey actually exceeded the goal he had for San Francisco 75% of all San Francisco

residents voted against it (Shilts 249)!

Having accomplished that, Harvey then turned his eye towards a large-scale gay-rights

march in Washington (Shilts 265). Of course, if that hope wasnt extinguished in a blaze of

gunfire just 21 days later, it might have happened. It also leaves other questions as to what

Harvey Milks future couldve been. Would Harveys movement had been able to weather the

challenges of the AIDS epidemic, for instance, and if hadnt have been cut down so young and in

his prime, could he have advanced LGBTQ+ rights all the more?

Regardless of the What ifs, though, one thing is clear. Harvey Milks lasting legacy is

much more than a list of items on a resume. Through his inspiring leadership, his loyalty, and

his persistence, Harvey Milk was able to emerge as one of the LGBTQ+ communitys very first

civil rights leaders. It doesnt matter, in truth, that he ultimately accomplished so little because

to San Francisco, and even the whole of the United States, issues regarding LGBTQ+ rights were

being talked about, out in the open, for the very first time. Its like what Harvey said regarding

the possibility that they might lose the Briggs initiative. Even if gays lose people are still

being educated (Giteck 2).

Honestly, what I have discussed here only scratches the surface. I urge you to learn more

about this incredible man and tell his story to everyone you know. But if there is one major

takeaway that we can take from his story, it is this - the best way to represent yourself to the

outside world, whether you fight for a cause, or not, it to be yourself. The reason Harvey had to

fight was because there so many people out there in the world who thought that gay people and

lesbians were perverts. By showing that he was just a nice and normal guy, one who cared about
people and wanted to help them in any way that he could, he was able to change so many minds

in the short amount of time that he was here on earth.

The best part of what we can learn from Harveys story is that you dont even need to be

the leader of political movement in order to make a change. Just like those in the candlelight

vigil that night, where each and every candle represented a person who was touched by Harvey

Milks message, so to can you spread your inner light to others. Imagine, if you will, a sea of

candles enveloping the whole world, each one representing the goodness found in all. Even in

the darkest of times, even when it seems like everything has been consumed by the blackest of

night, the light within yourself, and the light you share with others, is one light that will never

burn out.
 Bibliography

FitzGerald, Frances (July 21, 1986). "A Reporter at Large: The Castro I", The New Yorker, p.

3470.

Giteck, Lenny (November 28, 1978). "Milk Knew He Would Be Assassinated", The San

Francisco Examiner, p. 2.

"Harvey Milk." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2017. Web. 01 May 2017.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk>.

Jones, Cleve. "Supervisor Harvey Bernard Milk." When We Rise: My Life in the Movement.

New York City: Hachette Book Group, 2016. 129. Print.

Ledbetter, Les (March 22, 1978). "Bill on Homosexual Rights Advances in San Francisco", The

New York Times, p. A21.

Milk. Dir. Gus Van Sant. Prod. Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. By Dustin Lance Black. Perf. Sean

Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin. Focus Features, 2008. Netflix.

Shilts, Randy. The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. New York City:

St. Martin's, 1982. Print.

"The Official Harvey Milk Biography." The Harvey Milk Foundation. The Harvey Milk

Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 May 2017. <http://milkfoundation.org/about/harvey-milk-

biography/>.