John Ferrannini, Assistant Editor, Bay Area Reporter
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Navy to rename the ship named for the late San Francisco supervisor and gay rights icon Harvey Milk.
The decision, coming during Pride Month, set off waves of criticism from LGBTQ officials and community leaders.
Military.com first reported the news June 3.
The outlet reported that the planned timing of the announcement June 13, just after World Pride wraps in the District of Columbia, is intentional, and that the move is being made to create “alignment with president and objectives and priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.”
Rare Renaming
A number of naval ships in the John Lewis class of ships were named for civil rights heroes such as Milk, who himself was a Navy veteran. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in February 2020, Milk was given an “other than honorable” discharge from the U.S. Navy and forced to resign on February 7, 1955 rather than face a court-martial because of his homosexuality, according to a trove of naval records obtained by the paper.
Lewis, the late Democratic congressmember from Georgia, participated in the Nashville sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and the March on Washington during the Civil Rights movement for Black Americans.
The Navy renaming ships is rare. Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) stated that the Navy is renaming other ships named for civil rights heroes. The others’ namesakes are U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy (father of the current health and human secretary) and U.S. Supreme Court chief justice and California governor Earl Warren.
‘Shameful’ Says Pelosi
“The reported decision by the Trump administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream,” Pelosi stated. “Our military is the most powerful in the world – but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the ‘warrior’ ethos. Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country.
“As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision and continue to recognize the extraordinary contributions of Harvey Milk, a veteran himself, and all Americans who forged historic progress for our nation,” Pelosi added.
Former Castro district supervisor Bevan Dufty, a gay man, stated he appreciated Pelosi’s comments. He was present at the commissioning of the USNS Harvey Milk and was on board the ship when it stopped in San Francisco during its maiden voyage last March.
‘Bitter Crop’
“It was only a matter of time,” Dufty stated. “But it’s a bitter crop they are planting. Even though Harvey didn’t finish one year as supervisor, his legacy has shone bright globally since. This dime store defense secretary will be long forgotten and Harvey’s name will be restored in the years ahead. At the commissioning, both the navy secretary and ship’s captain acknowledged having gay sons. And that’s why we will prevail.”
Cleve Jones, the longtime gay activist who worked for Milk while he was a San Francisco supervisor in 1978, told the B.A.R. June 3, “With all that’s going on in the world, from China and Taiwan, India and Pakistan ready to bomb each other, Gaza, and the ongoing war of Russia against Ukraine, America will sleep safer tonight knowing that Harvey Milk’s name is not on a ship. Happy Pride.”
‘Closet Mentality’
Tom Ammiano, the gay former San Francisco supervisor and state assemblymember, told the B.A.R., “Homophobia to this extent reveals his closet mentality.”
Ammiano worked with Milk and helped spearhead the campaign against Proposition 6, a 1978 California ballot measure that would have barred gays and lesbians from being teachers.
“Chickenshit like this only makes the community stronger and makes a strong case for reaching out to other groups being debased, as Harvey advocated, taking to the streets in unity,” Ammiano added.
Milk was an advocate of marginalized groups allying to achieve their aims. He forged alliances with organized labor and other groups during his career. Tragically, Milk was assassinated in November 1978, along with then-mayor George Moscone, at San Francisco City Hall by disgruntled ex-supervisor Dan White.
Read the rest of the story on the Bay Area Reporter website.
