For a man whose life and political career were cut short well before their time, Harvey Milk left a huge impression on American politics and immeasurably advanced the cause of LGBTQ+ rights. In 1977, Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay elected official in California, and one of the very first in the United States.
Milk was already an established leader in the LGBTQ+ community when he was elected, and his voice continued to grow in its reach and power as he took the fight for gay rights as far as he possibly could. His oratory skills often proved electric, and he became famous for his inspiring “Hope Speech,” which became a staple of his political career. For Milk, hope was everything, whether he was fighting for LGBTQ+ liberation, individual freedom, or the importance of neighborhood communities.
Tragically, Milk was assassinated just 10 months after he was sworn in to political office. Both he and the city’s mayor, George Moscone, were shot and killed at San Francisco City Hall in 1978. Milk’s message of hope, however, lives on in the memory of his courageous actions and rousing words. Here are some of his most inspiring quotes, which show the heart and the character of the energetic and charismatic leader.
I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living.
Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.
It takes no compromise to give people their rights… It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.
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.
If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country.
I would like to see every gay doctor come out, every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out, stand up, and let that world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody would imagine.
Give me your support and I'll fight for you… I'll fight for you because I am you.
All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.
Worry about becoming a human being and not about how you can prevent others from enjoying their lives because of your own inability to adjust to life.
It's not about personal gain, not about ego, not about power — it's about giving those young people out there in the Altoona, Pennsylvanias, hope. You gotta give them hope.
If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. And to do that, we must understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living.
If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities — the expression of love — then life itself loses its meaning.
You have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be alright.
Hope will never be silent.
Photo credit: Bettmann via Getty Images
