All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.
All over the country, they're reading about me, and the story doesn't center on me being gay. It's just about a gay person who is doing his job.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that being gay is just a part of someone's identity, not the sole focus of their story or achievements.
Harvey Milk's quote highlights the importance of recognizing individuals for their contributions and character rather than defining them solely by their sexual orientation. It advocates for the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace and society, suggesting that their personal lives should not overshadow their professional endeavors. This reflects a broader need for inclusivity and understanding, where the value of a person is appreciated beyond their sexual identity.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a pride event speech to promote equality in the workplace.
More from Harvey Milk
All quotes βBurst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.
If I do a good job, people won't care if I am green or have three heads.
Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.
If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country.
It's not my victory, it's yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope.
Similar quotes
We'll just have to get along. That's what people do, you know? They just get along. And try to help each other.
Unless modern civilization is a failure, it is entirely feasible and practicable for two races in such essential political, economic and religious harmony as the white and colored people in America, to develop side by side in peace and mutual happiness, the peculiar contribution which each has to make to the culture of their common country.
Very early in life, it seemed to me that there was a relationship between the problems of the Negro people in America and the Jewish people in Russia, and that the Jewish people's problems were worse than ours.
It's not sissy to show your feeling.
Find fault when you must find fault in private, and if possible sometime after the offense, rather than at the time.
Throughout my career, from Jamaica to Nigeria, Pakistan to Switzerland, I've learned that effective diplomacy means more than shaking hands and staging photo ops. It means developing real, robust relationships. It means finding common ground and managing points of differentiation. It means doing genuine, old-fashioned, people-to-people diplomacy.