Most of you are familiar with the name Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to office in San Francisco. Most of you know that he was assassinated in the late 1970s by another elected official. Most of you have seen the footage of tens of thousands of candles that proceeded along Castro Street the night of his death. Most of you know that Dan White was given a light sentence for the killings which sparked rioting in the streets. But if you are like me, and are woefully unversed in important gay history, your knowledge may not extend much beyond that. This book is the ultimate remedy to any gaps in your brain concerning this remarkable man.
Even if the subject were not compelling on its own, this book is a primer for how to record history. The book paints a full picture of Milk’s life, from his youth, military service, Manhattan days, theater experience, his swing through the political spectrum, and of course, San Francisco. No detail is provided without multiple corroborations, and every source is documented and credited. Moreover, and more importantly, the book reads as well as any well-paced piece of fiction. Of course, the story of Milk’s life is a made-for-TV movie in itself.
Harvey Milk is a must-read character in any legitimate study of gay history. Studying him though this book gives you a significant bonus: the rise of San Francisco as a gay mecca. Did you know that we have the military to thank for that, mostly? San Francisco was the port of embarkation for many of the men headed oversees. You can probably figure out the rest. The transformation of District 5 and Castro Street is all here for the taking.
Harvey Milk died in 1978, about 3 years before the “gay plague” that would become AIDS changed the gay community forever. Harvey’s main messages to all gay men and women during his 5 years of campaigning and serving were simple: Come out of the closet. Stand and be counted. Don’t blindly follow parties and platforms...take power and lead. The book covers all of this very well, and also shows that although Milk was a great pol, he was also a flawed man.
A couple of points came up during the book club discussion. The first was a comparison between the world we live in today and that of Milk. The book details a lot of police brutality that made living an openly gay lifestyle a dangerous choice. Since this is virtually unheard of today, I argued that the world is much safer, more accepting, and a less fearful place to live. A colleague disagreed, saying that just because the police don’t beat you any more, that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone else ready to do it.
The second point was the observation that “all politics is local” is not just a catch-phrase. This book is almost completely consumed with city politics. State politics was considerably less interesting to Harvey Milk, and federal politics was almost never mentioned. This wasn’t a particularly important aspect of the book, but it was interesting.
Do I recommend this book? Definitely yes. Enjoy.