Hope Speech

Milk starts his speech with a series of jokes that may lack context or be unrelatable to a modern audience. What is the historical context for these jokes? How does each joke play into the speech’s construction and effectiveness? Support your answer with evidence from your research.

The speech regularly refers to exaggerated terms such as “the media” and “the taxpayers,” turning complex issues and groups into standardized entities. Why do you think Milk uses this language? How does it help him persuade his audience to think a certain way?

Milk regularly claims that racial minorities and sexual minorities share experiences and suffering. Research Milk’s audience. Do you think that this claim is effective? Why or why not?