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Contents
Background and Overview: Who Was Harvey Milk?
Setting America up for an Inclusive Future through Deliberative Oratory and Identification: 1973
A New Appearance and Response to his Audience's Concerns with Ethos: 1975
Responding to New Political Enemies with the Theme of Hope: 1977
Milk's Rhetorical Legacy: "This is to be played only in the event of my death by assassination"
Background and Overview: Who Was Harvey Milk?
Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. As much as he advocated for LGBTQ folx to come out of the closet, Milk did not come out until he was forty years old. After falling in love in New York City, with a man named Scott Smith, Milk decided to move to San Francisco with Smith to be a part of the gay culture that was thriving there in the 1970s. In San Francisco, they opened a camera shop, which became a safe house for LGBVTQ folx to gather, on Castro Street, the heart of San Francisco's gay community.
Milk was one of the few storefront politicians, someone who ran for public office without money. Having no political background, his motive for campaigning was his desire for homosexuals to feel accepted, which he believed could only be accomplished by having a gay representative in politics. Because of this, he turned his camera shop into “a place for voter registration and urged all gay people to ‘come out’—saying that people would never change their viewpoint on homosexuality unless they had actually met some homosexuals” (Robinson xviii).
Frank Robinson, Milk’s good friend and speechwriter, recalled that Milk “campaigned as a businessman, but in reality he was a terrible one. He wore hand-me-down suits, ground the beans for his coffee, and was an ace at a good spaghetti sauce” (xxii). As for his own public discourse, “Milk’s words are sometimes fragmentary, typically unpolished, and occasionally banal. At the same time, they always crackle with his energetic engagement” (Black and Morris 4). Milk often used humor in his statements. As an example, in “Keynote Speech at Gay Conference 5,” Milk stated the following:
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. [Laughter] We would have our own communication center . . . hahaha, and, instead of running for Supervisor, I’m going to run for Sherriff . . . haha. [Laughter]. (199)
The person from Florida Milk referred to was anti-LGBTQ activist Anita Bryant, who was interviewed by Playboy in 1978. Humor can be a tricky addition to speeches since the concept of humor is different for everyone; however, Milk’s use of humor often resulted in a roar of laughter from his audience, which is evident in the speech transcript above. Milk’s own energetic cackle made his speeches so memorable yet able to address his platform’s serious issues.
On November 27, 1978, Milk’s activism and eloquence came to an end when former City Supervisor Dan White shot and killed Milk and Mayor George Moscone inside City Hall. Reminiscing on his friendship with Milk, Robinson says, “We desperately wanted to find a gay hero. I never realized I had found mine until the day that Harvey died” (xxiii).