Advocate: 30 Years Later, We Can Still Learn from Milk

FROM ADVOCATE:

By Lane Hudson
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 27, 2008

COMMENTARY: Thirty years after the death of Harvey Milk, Americans can still learn from his inspiring and profound work as an activist, politician and friend. With the story of his life opening in theatres this week, Lane Hudson takes a look back at how Milk's legacy lives on -- and what we can to do pay tribute to the legend.

"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!"

That is how gay rights icon Harvey Milk would start his speeches. The refrain became more and more familiar and inspired a new generation of activists in San Francisco and throughout America to fight for equality for gays and lesbians. Harvey broke barriers, won hearts and minds, changed our movement and was assassinated 30 years ago today. With his death, we lost the most transformational leader our movement has ever seen.

Today is Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the lessons that we can learn from Harvey Milk. Yesterday, a film went to wide release that chronicles his life. It is an instant classic that provides us an accurate accounting of the life of the man so many of us draw inspiration from.

As I sat in the movie theater, I was taken with the parallels that exist with what Harvey was up against and the dynamics of our movement today. We often hear that very little progress has been made in the past thirty years. I wonder how different things would be today if Harvey had not been taken from us.

We have lost sight of what Harvey sought to accomplish. Our movement has become professionalized, funding mechanisms to ensure our organizations operate day to day; so many more gays and lesbians live openly today then ever before. He understood how every one of our accomplishments resonated further than lives of the individuals who made them. At one point, he said that he wasn't a candidate, but it was the movement that was the candidate.

Harvey heard from young people around the country who had read about him and been inspired to avoid suicide and instead become an activist. There is a wonderful YouTube video that uses Harvey's own words to address this and the importance of electing gay people to office. Watching it will be time well spent:

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