Hope Speech

While longer versions of Milk’s “Hope” speech exist, the final, most polished version is a brief but impassioned call for LGBTQ+ Pride in Action—for openness in a culture that silenced LGBTQ+ voices both physically and legally. This version of the speech lacks some of the specific political rhetoric Milk used in earlier versions to announce his candidacy for city supervisor. However, it features a honed use of pathos (emotional appeals), incorporating humor and personal narrative to remind listeners what they are fighting for. Milk’s call at the end of the speech for his audience to take up the mantle of hope transforms the speech from a political effort to a declaration of queer power and pride.

Milk’s primary audience for this version of the speech was LGBTQ+ people, as it was presented on Gay Pride Day in San Francisco. He discusses LGBTQ+ issues that would have been relevant and timely for his audience and uses the pronoun “us” for dramatic effect, identifying with his audience and drawing an implicit contrast with a “them”: those who oppose the movement. This contrast further defines his audience: Beyond those currently listening to him, this speech is aimed at all marginalized people and those who care about equal rights. Those who do not care or who advocate against equal rights are not invited to listen and even mocked, as when Milk jokes, “Anita Bryant in her speaking to God said that the drought in California was because of the gay people. On November 9, the day after I got elected, it started to rain” (1). Although humorous, Milk uses this anecdote to emphasize the division between himself and his opposition.

Milk makes no attempt to hide his orientation and encourages his audience to do the same, in line with Gay Pride Day’s emphasis on “coming out.” He uses personal narrative throughout the speech to emphasize his stake in the issue, which he calls explicit attention to: “I use the word ‘I’ because I’m proud” (4). However, he also frequently uses second person pronouns, which helps establish him as equal with his audience and acknowledges their experiences and pain. The point of the speech is not to set up Milk as a hero for his groundbreaking political gains, but to encourage all gay people to imitate him. He ends the speech by saying, “And you and you and you, you have to give people hope” (5), redirecting the speech away from himself and toward the audience. While political in origin and motivation, this speech uses rhetorical moves to emphasize the power of the people over the ability of Milk himself.

As the primary point of the speech is to encourage gay people to foster hope by running for office, The Importance of Representation and Intersectional Solidarity for marginalized communities is a significant theme. Milk’s understanding of political marginalization is expansive, including race, class, ability, and age as well as orientation; to an extent, the speech equates the experiences of underrepresented peoples regardless of their identity. He says, “Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us’es, the us’es will give up” (5), assimilating a wide variety of marginalized experiences into one common identity in need of hope. Electing one marginalized person to office will give hope to all. This encourages the reader or listener to put aside their differences and unite over their shared underrepresentation. The “us’es” again contrast with an implicit “them,” although Milk does leave open the possibility that those who are not marginalized may serve as allies, or “friends.”

At the time of this version of the speech, several tragedies had occurred in the broader gay community. One was the repeal of a bill protecting the rights of gay teachers in Dade County, Florida; another was the recent murder of a gay person, Robert Hillsborough, in San Francisco. Milk only references these events briefly, knowing his audience would be familiar with them, but he uses them to bolster larger discussions of Harmful Stereotypes and Heightened Expectations for Minorities. When gay people go unrepresented and unseen, it is harder to overcome dangerous stereotypes. Additionally, when gay people are not a visible part of the broader community, nobody except the subculture will mourn their losses. While support for LGBTQ+ people was becoming more widespread, this speech emphasizes the need for visibility to overcome prejudice and prevent tragedies from occurring. By alluding to current events, Milk encourages his audience to remember the practical reasons for their fight for equality.

Milk’s tone shifts depending on his topic, but he never becomes angry or defeated. Rather, he starts off with humor, saying, “I’m here to recruit you” (1). This references the anti-gay talking point that gay people recruited straight people to join their ranks; while humorous, it reminds his audience of the rhetoric they are facing. By starting the speech off with a play on a stereotype, Milk lays the groundwork for his later discussion of the harm these stereotypes cause and the importance of overcoming them without sounding didactic or gloomy. Despite the somber issues at stake, Milk’s tone at the end of his speech is optimistic and encouraging, but not without a call to action. Milk amplifies his speech’s meaning with demands and hyperbole, saying, “The only thing they [young gay people] have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope” (5). While Milk’s positive tone encourages his audience to have hope, he emphasizes the need to safeguard hope through action. The point of the speech is not only to encourage his audience to be proud and hopeful but also to encourage them to actively promote these feelings in others.