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00:00Let's see, what's next on our tour of classic San Francisco sights?
00:25Oh, right!
00:27Dear Tim and Moby,
00:29We celebrate Harvey Milkday at my school.
00:32Can you make a movie about him?
00:34From, Brandon.
00:36Hey, Brandon!
00:38People celebrate Harvey Milkday all across California on May 22nd.
00:42He was an iconic leader of the gay rights movement in the 1970s.
00:46Today, he's honored as a pioneer in the fight to end discrimination against the entire LGBT community.
00:54It stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
00:58Some people prefer the broader term queer.
01:01That includes anyone who isn't heterosexual and all members of the LGBT community.
01:06Together, the community identifies as LGBTQ+.
01:13Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the U.S.
01:17He served as a local representative in San Francisco,
01:20but his outspoken style earned him national attention.
01:24So, every year on his birthday, California students honor him the way we do other civil rights pioneers.
01:30People like Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King.
01:35Teachers and students discuss current obstacles to LGBT equality.
01:40They explore how Milk used community organizing to protest and to fight for change.
01:46And discuss ways to combat homophobia, negative attitudes about people who identify as LGBT.
01:53I... I don't know if I could ever explain why.
01:57But in some environments, LGBT folks are cast as abnormal, or even immoral.
02:03These ideas were widespread in the 1940s, when Milk was growing up.
02:08Back then, being gay meant living in the shadows.
02:12Coming out, or sharing that part of your identity, usually led to rejection by your friends and family.
02:18You could be fired from your job, kicked out of your home, even jailed.
02:23It wasn't until the 1970s that things really began to change.
02:29At the time, the community had made some huge political strides.
02:33Cities across the country began to pass laws protecting LGBT citizens.
02:38Openly gay people like Kathy Kozachenko were elected to public office.
02:43And the first pride parades were giving the community a bigger presence.
02:47But the progress didn't come without fierce opposition.
02:51One of the worst backlashes was in Miami, Florida.
02:55In 1977, the city had made it illegal to fire someone or deny them housing based on their sexual orientation.
03:02A group called Save Our Children quickly organized to repeal a new law.
03:07They claimed that gay men were secretly planning to recruit kids.
03:12They even launched attack ads on TV and in newspapers.
03:17They were successful in the short term. Miami repealed its gay rights law.
03:22But their victory was a wake-up call to the LGBT community.
03:26It motivated people to finally take a stand and speak out.
03:30Harvey Milk became one of the key figures in this struggle.
03:34He led a massive march across San Francisco the night Miami repealed its law.
03:38Pulling people from restaurants and street corners, he rallied thousands to his cause.
03:45Milk had run for local office in San Francisco three times before.
03:49He'd never been able to gather enough support to win.
03:52But the Miami march increased his exposure, and in 1978, he was elected to the city council.
03:58Under Milk's influence, the council passed a new regulation.
04:02You could no longer be fired or denied housing based on your sexual orientation.
04:07But ensuring legal protection was just part of Milk's mission.
04:11His larger goal was to instill a sense of pride in the LGBT community.
04:18For Milk, the first step was to come out from hiding.
04:21Members of the LGBT community didn't look different from anyone else.
04:25So many chose to hide their sexual identity instead of risking social rejection.
04:30It was just easier to pretend to be straight.
04:33Milk himself had struggled with this same issue.
04:37When he was in the Navy, his supervisors tried to pry into his private life.
04:42In order to protect his secret, Milk resigned his position.
04:46The episode helped him realize things would never change if gay people remained invisible.
04:52He came to see announcing his sexual identity as an act of defiance.
04:56Or as he put it, coming out is the most political thing you can do.
05:01Milk's main opponent in this area was California Senator John Briggs.
05:05He had organized Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative.
05:10If it passed, the law would ban gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools.
05:17Milk drew on all his resources to protest the bill.
05:20In interviews, he used humor and charm to counteract Briggs' fear-mongering.
05:25At that year's Pride Parade, he encouraged people to carry signs listing their hometowns.
05:30He wanted to show how far they'd traveled to live in a more open, accepting community.
05:36That's where the rainbow pride flag made its debut, by the way.
05:41Milk's crusade caught the attention of other high-profile politicians.
05:45California's governor and President Jimmy Carter both opposed Prop 6.
05:50So did future President Ronald Reagan.
05:53It ended up losing by a million votes.
05:56Milk was well on his way to becoming a prominent figure in national politics.
06:02Tragically, after just ten months in office, he was assassinated.
06:06A former city supervisor, Dan White, shot Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.
06:12They were both killed.
06:14It was a somber day, as citizens mourned across San Francisco.
06:20White had severe emotional problems.
06:23He blamed Milk for his own career failures, and opposed Milk's agenda for LGBT rights.
06:31Milk knew that his high profile and strong voice would make him a target.
06:35But he was prepared to die for his beliefs.
06:38In the months before his death, he was helping to organize a major protest.
06:43Though he didn't live to see it, the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
06:47launched the issue onto the national stage.
06:51Yep, these days, his name is on buildings, roads, even a postage stamp.
06:57The Supreme Court has affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry.
07:01And the same Navy that chased Milk out in the 1950s now has a ship named after him.
07:08Yeah, you can see why that flag became such a potent symbol.
07:11It's bright, positive, and impossible to ignore.
07:15It's like saying, after years of whispering, now we're going to shout.
07:19Gilbert Baker, the flag's designer, says he was inspired by Harvey Milk.