Archive of Hope

by Milk, Harvey

  . . .

  Thank you for being here. The you-s, wherever you are, make it possible for the us-es, in this case, to do our trip. Without you, without your support, the gay sisters and brothers all over the country some of us would never be able to do it. So, thank you for being here today.

  In the six or seven years that I’ve been quite active, I’ve only given two written speeches—you know, wrote it out. I usually kind of like put some notes down and then don’t even follow them. I gave one speech that night when the Lieutenant Governor was the guest, and I was told it was a very excellent speech, so I have one copy in case anyone wants to read it. [Laughter]

  I was expecting the traditional Texas welcome when I got off the plane last night. I’d never been to that airport. And there was nobody there. [Laughter] And I said, Texas? And then it dawned on me. Very clever, you know, very smart. There’s always that threat or fear that something’s going to happen, that the extreme right wing, the paranoid people are going to get afraid and try to disrupt and maybe wait for me to come in and, you know, take me away someplace. And I figured if they didn’t know what I looked like but they knew what Steve did, so they were watching him and waiting for him to go to the airport to get me. But he was smart. He stayed here, and figured I’d have to take the bus and nobody would interfere. So I got on a bus and it made about ten stops before it got out of the airport and thought I was in Disneyland. [Laughter] And had this magnificent ride from the airport to here, and I cruised the bus driver. [Laughter] And somebody with an aloha shirt kept saying, “My, it’s cold tonight.” You know, cause I’m dressed like this from San Francisco. And it was very clever. And I got here and there was no incident and I was safe and everything else. But very cheap. I had to pay the 4 dollars. [Laughter] Very tacky! [Laughter, applause] You know a New York Jew when you see one. [Laughter, applause]

  Before I forget this, I was given one note by my administrative aide before I left. A gay woman by the name of Anne. And she wanted me to remind everybody that when you see the movie tonight, Gay USA, there’s gonna be one scene where there’s this lesbian in leather. And usually the audience responds pretty good, that’s her lover Joyce. [Laughter] And you should see what City Hall is like . . . you know, Anne is probably one of the most together people I know, but when Joyce comes down to City Hall in leather. Picture that one. [Laughter]

  Anyhow, I’m Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you. [Laughter, applause] I was reading the Playboy interview of that person from Florida [laughter], who wants to put all gay people in jail, and just stop and think about it, 20 million gay people in jail. [Laughter] We would have our own community center . . . hahaha, and instead of running for Supervisor, I’m going to run for Sheriff . . . haha. [Laughter]

  Anita Bryant, last year, blamed the drought we had in San Francisco on the gay people in California. And, honest to God—this is true—honest to God, the day I got elected it started to rain. [Laughter, applause] And we had—we had a series of rainy days on and off. The day we were sworn in, some of us walked to City Hall from the Castro and—maybe I’ll talk about that later—but we walked to City Hall, it was kind of clear, it was getting cloudy and—it’s recorded, but I had my hand up and as I was getting [laughter] the—we do everything backwards. [Laughter] As I was getting ready to say “I do,” it started to rain again! And then subsequent to that it started to rain and rain and rain! They want to recall me [Harvey laughing], to stop the rain! But it stopped and things are going pretty well.

  I can’t resist because you people are very political, I have one political joke. A real story joke. I only [get] to tell this about every six months or so and I told this in Chicago and they never heard it, but I couldn’t believe that. So I’m going to tell it here and I don’t know how many people know about Chicago politics. So this is an “in” joke if you don’t know about it. It seems there was an ocean liner going across and it sank, and there was only one little, tiny piece of wood floating and 3 people were swimming towards it, but it could only hold 1. And the 3 people were the Pope, the President of the United States, and Mayor Daley. [Laughter] So, they had a discussion while treading water to see who should hold on to it and be saved. The Pope pontificated about being the spiritual leader of the world, and it was a good argument. The President, who was able to chew gum and swim [laughter, applause], said that he was the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, and he went on in his brilliant way, and there was a good argument. And Mayor Daley said that he recognized both positions but that Chicago was the hub of America, what took place in Chicago affected America. And the archdiocese of Chicago was the largest in the world, and you know it was a good argument. They all realized they all had real good arguments, so they did it the democratic way and voted . . . and Daley won 7-2. [Laughter, applause]

  I’ve attended some of the workshops and—I look here, you know—I say that, you know, three, four, five years ago to think that this number of people would be gathered on a Saturday night in a major hotel that’s used to conventions, and if anybody at that time would have said it was gay people, I would have said no. And it’s so exciting to see it breaking out all over the country. That, the movement, the gay liberation movement is ready to explode. And you are part of it and you are helping it. And it’s very exciting, and I watched the reactions in those seminars, workshops, and it was exciting to see the intensity. Ah, it’s happening all over the country, and you realize where we’ve come and where we’ve got to go.

  And my last whimsical part would be to remind you of Winston Churchill’s famous statement, where he went to give a speech and the reception was the head of the temperance movement, and she said, “Sir Churchill, we’ve measured how much scotch you have drank in your life and in a room this size it would fill up this high.” And he looked around, looked at her hand, looked at the ceiling, “So much to do, so little time left.” [Laughter, applause]

  And so much to do, and your being here is making that commitment. I jokingly said I’m here to recruit you, I don’t have to because your being here is that commitment. And the message that anybody has to say is that without a commitment, you’re just occupying space. We had better make that commitment, because we cannot afford not to. That the movement that we hear about, the Anita Bryants and the John Briggs in California and their counterparts throughout the country are trying to legalize bigotry. And we better be prepared for it, and we better make that commitment. And for those who don’t understand, you better read the gay history, and I think Don Amador will let you know about that tomorrow. For those of you who have forgotten, read those history books because you’ve got to make that commitment, it is very dangerous. Based on what we’ve seen so far every ounce of tolerance is going to be attacked and every bit of bigotry will surface.

  We just had a primary in California, and think about this, in San Francisco, we very seldom have races for judgeships—they usually are kind of fait accomplis. And when we do have a race it is probably the most dull race you can imagine, each telling which law school they went to. And this year we had a race, there were three people, and so in order to avoid a run-off you must get 50% of the vote. It just so happened that one of the people was a woman in which the gay community banded behind. She also was supported by other financial interests downtown, and it was probably the first time we’ve ever agreed on a candidate. And every wealthy name in the city was supporting her and so were every single gay person I knew, there were exceptions. And the weekend before, in liberal San Francisco, in a dull judge’s race, a piece of literature went out—45,000 pieces went to homes in the most conservative area of San Francisco. And on the back it said who was supporting whom. And to this other judge, it mentioned the police officers group, this distinguished conservative, that distinguished conservative. And it said who was supporting [inaudible]. And it said “as she quoted herself in one of the gay publications she regards herself as an honorary homosexual and is supported by Harvey Milk and Carol Silver.” And there was the fag
hag smear. In liberal San Francisco, in a judge race. And I found out the names of the people who put that out and they were part of the progressive wing of the Democratic party. And you can be sure the bigots are smiling.

  And so we better, better be prepared ‘cause it’s not going to be easy. ‘Cause we’ve heard quite often today and yesterday and in the papers about this movement from the Right. I use a bad pun, I refer to it as the “third Right.” And we know what they are doing, but what we don’t there are two other aspects. And one is who is talking about it the most and you will find out it is the media that is controlled by the Right. Telling us about it over and again so that we are starting to believe that it is the package on the shelf that everybody’s buying. And so that the legislators believe that indeed there’s a movement to the Right and so the legislators are moving to the Right, and the media from the Right are saying the nation is moving to the Right to convince us it is happening, and we are buying it. We ourselves are buying it. We look at the defeats, but stop and think of what’s really happening in the nation . . . in 1977, in Dade county, was an election that took away the rights of gay people, which in 1975 did not exist. And in the two weeks before and after Dade County, more was written about homosexuality than in the entire history of mankind. But in every household they talked about it; they may have said “you fucking queens,” but they talked about it. And that was the opening of dialogue. And in every city of this country and in every town, the issue, the love that dare not speak its name, spoke its name. And dialogue is the beginning of understanding.

  In 1977 a gay person was elected to public office in California. In 1977 the state of Mississippi lowered the penalties on marijuana. Mississippi! And in 1977 was the convention of conventions in Houston. And I say, yes, there’s a movement to the Right, but there’s a goddamn good movement to the Left too. [Applause]

  And I’m not, and I’m not gonna buy, I’m not gonna buy their package here today. I’m concerned, I’m aware, I know what they are doing. I know the money they are putting together, I know the way they are chipping us away one by one. I know the way—their tactics. But I know ours. And I’ll be on my defense but I’m gonna be on my offense too. I’m gonna put them on the defense, I’m gonna put then on real soon, real fast. And it is up to you to do the same thing. Let us fight, put them where they belong and let’s turn the tide around. I think it’s like 5 steps forward and a half a step back. And so they may win some victories, but it’s easy to win victories. I told the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, the publisher, that if I were to put on the ballot in Atlanta, Georgia, should whites be allowed to teach, what would be the result. He said it would go down in defeat. It’s easy! Those are easy victories, and based on those we think the world is caving in. Sure, ERA is getting beaten back, but 10 years ago it didn’t exist.

  And they are telling us the movement to the Right, it’s their last ditch effort, and I think we are going to prevail based on history. And it’s up to you to make sure.

  So let me tell you a little of what’s taking place in California, so you can relay it to Texas and maybe take the best of what we have learned from that. And take our mistakes and failures and learn from that so you can put together something that is even greater. So I would like to take a few moments to tell you about a few things that’s taking place in California, to let you know that the Left is not remaining silent. You heard earlier about Lt. Governor Dymally who made some statements. You must understand that Lt. Governor Dymally is black, and as leader of the black community is speaking out for gay rights. And Lt. Governor Dymally is putting together the Democratic Minority Coalition. Forget for a moment whether you’re Democrats or Republicans, just forget for a moment . . . if that’s possible [Harvey laughs], but he’s putting together the Democratic Minority Coalition, which is the traditional minorities, the feminist movement and the gay movement. And by 1990, by 1990 if we register the movement we will have control of the state. And so our goal is to register, not just our gay sisters and brothers, but the entire minority community in the state of California. And in the city of San Francisco we’ll have a race for mayor next year, now I don’t know who it’s gonna be and I’m not that concerned at this moment. But I am concerned that in five years it is a member of a minority and that includes the gay and feminist movement as well. And that’s our goal in California—to take over so that the Right is buried once and for all. [Applause]

  And we are learning how to do it, because we are learning, and we’re gonna make a lot of mistakes before it’s over. But you can only make mistakes if you try. If you go back into the closet and hide you can’t make any mistakes—you suffocate. And so we are gonna make mistakes.

  But let me tell you what we’ve done as examples of where we’re coming from. Governor Brown was up for re-election, Governor Brown was unchallenged in the primary, oh there were some minor characters running, people like Harvey Milk. But there was no competition. And the big, liberal meeting was the CDC convention—the California Democratic Club convention in San Diego, where the progressive wing of the Democratic party meets. And the gay caucus represented almost 15% of that membership. And we submitted to the Governor some questions, quite a few questions. And he didn’t quite answer them and we didn’t endorse him. And my statement was “the Governor almost answered our questions and we almost endorsed him.” Subsequent to that, all of the sudden now he’s meeting with the gay community. We tried to arrange meetings prior to that; we couldn’t. But now he does because he’s in a tough race for governor in the run-off and he needs us, and many of us will not go easy or cheap. We have questions and we want answers. Both candidates in the Democratic party for attorney general fought bitterly for the gay vote—bitterly and openly for it. And the mayor of San Francisco would not be mayor if it were not for the gay vote.

  We’ve made the vote the end result. The ballot box, because that’s where their answer is. You can have all the demonstrations you want, you can have all the rallies you want and all the meetings you want. But unless you go out there and push that button or punch the peg hole or whatever it may be, unless you cast a vote, it’s meaningless. And the right understands that. And that’s where their strength comes from.

  And it’s up to us to form our natural allies, whether we like them or not, whether they like us or not. But to form those allies, to once and for all, to get our way, to get our share—no more, no less.

  And so we are using the vote as a way to get the rights. We are not ignoring the other tactics, everything’s needed. But the end result is in that box. And if you can’t get your gay sisters and brothers to understand that, then read them the pages of history. And those who say what difference does my one vote make? Let me give you an example, one district in our city, a candidate won, forgetting whether that candidate is good or bad, he won by twenty-one votes. Which meant that if one more person in every fourth precinct went out and voted against that person, he would have lost. One more vote in every fourth precinct. And so those people who say my vote doesn’t count—you’re crazy. It’s vital, ‘cause it’s those one votes that make the difference.

  And so we are learning, because of that we have many things happening. In Los Angeles the mayor appointed a gay as his advisor. In San Francisco, I don’t think I could sit down and figure out how many gays are on important commissions. And because of my position I was able to appoint somebody to a state commission, the coastal commission. And we are putting gays in every spot we can. But not just gays, ‘cause we are fighting with our natural allies.

  Earlier this morning you heard a great speech that talked about the problems of the east. Where women were not being put in the right positions, they were being put into the traditional, stereotypical positions of health and so forth. San Francisco’s a little different, we have five fire commissioners, three are women. We have five police commissioners, two are women. They are on the Board of Permit Appeals, the planning commission. And that goes for the Blacks, and the Asians, and the Latin
os. We are making sure that we support each other, because that’s the only way. We needed each other and we must stick together—whether we like each other or not or they hate us or not. The point is we have a common enemy. And so we are joining together our votes and I urge you people to do the same thing in Texas, and every other state.

  You see, to me, I call us the us-es. If you look who’s fighting against gays, if you look who’s fighting against ERA, if you look who’s for the Bakke decision, if you look who’s holding back the Hispanic community, if you look who’s trying to cut off funds for abortion, if you look who doesn’t want childcare centers, if you look who doesn’t want to put money into senior citizens—you come to the same person—the people who have control now.

  And for us to vote our pocket book on an issue and not realize you are giving support to the same people who want to put us in jail—maybe not today—but tomorrow, you’re crazy.

  And all these groups are the us-es. Of course the thems say they have the right to control the destiny because it is their money. They have the big corporations and pay the huge taxes. But how do they get the money for the taxes? It’s the bars of soap that you buy, it’s the records you buy, it’s the hamburgers you buy, it’s the TV sets you buy, it’s the automobiles you buy. The thems wouldn’t have the money if it wasn’t for the us-es. It’s our money but they won’t return it . . . while they throw a crumb and let us fight among it. And so that has to end. We must realize that there is a battle between the us-es and the thems. And when you forget that you’re just giving more strength to the thems.