--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A gay person in office can set a tone…" description: "\"A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect not only from the larger community but from the young people in our own community who need b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/harvey-milk-9963_community_a-gay-person-in-office-can-set-a-tone-ca_554952.jpg" --- # A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect… ![“A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect not only from the larger community but from the young people in our own community who need both examples and hope.” quote by Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/harvey-milk-9963_community_a-gay-person-in-office-can-set-a-tone-ca_554952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/harvey-milk-9963_community_a-gay-person-in-office-can-set-a-tone-ca_554952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/harvey-milk-9963_community_a-gay-person-in-office-can-set-a-tone-ca_554952.jpg) > “A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect not only from the larger community but from the young people in our own community who need both examples and hope.” [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals in professional settings fosters respect and hope, influencing both broader society and younger community members. **In simple terms:** Being openly gay at work inspires respect and hope. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity to lead by example. Themes inclusion leadership representation Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational social. When to use this quote - workplace - youth mentorship - community building - policy advocacy Key Concepts LGBTQ+ visibility role modeling Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ staff? - What impact does visible representation have on youth? A Different Perspective May face discrimination or tokenism without broader support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-young-1045574/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Gay Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-person/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Larger Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/larger-community-475516/) [People Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-community-749043/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respect Larger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-larger-4612830/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [When I decided to come out, it was not easy. Personally, for my life, I didn't want to do it. 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You must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/every-gay-person-must-come-out-as-difficult-as-it-is-you-must-tell/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/all-over-the-country-they-re-reading-about-me-and-the-story-doesn-t/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [With everything that you can imagine at our fingertips, many of the social interactions that help tie people together in a community have faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/with-everything-that-you-can-imagine-at-our-fingertips-many-of-the/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [I'm not a politician. I only want to help relieve the suffering in communities, and I want to help people see their community in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/i-m-not-a-politician-i-only-want-to-help-relieve-the-suffering-in/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [There are gay people in every community, there are bi people in every community and they can come together with a bit of strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-act/there-are-gay-people-in-every-community-there-are-bi-people-in-every/) [Courtney Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-act/) > [Instead of drifting along like a leaf in a river, understand who you are and how you come across to people and what kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/instead-of-drifting-along-like-a-leaf-in-a-river-understand-who-you/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [“The call of community isn't about finding people just like us, or at the exclusion of any people. Community in the biblical sense is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-halter-matt-smay/the-call-of-community-isn-t-about-finding-people-just-like-us-or-at/) [Hugh Halter & Matt Smay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-halter-matt-smay/) ## More by Harvey Milk > [Some people call me the unofficial mayor of Castro Street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/some-people-call-me-the-unofficial-mayor-of-castro-street/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [“Let's make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/let-s-make-no-mistake-about-this-the-american-dream-starts-with-the/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-will-not-win-our-rights-by-staying-quietly-in-our-closets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you'd sure have a helluva lot more nuns running around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-it-were-true-that-children-mimicked-their-teachers-you-d-sure-have/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Never take an elevator in city hall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/never-take-an-elevator-in-city-hall/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Out of the bars and into the streets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/out-of-the-bars-and-into-the-streets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/rights-are-won-only-by-those-who-make-their-voices-heard/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-are-coming-out-to-tell-the-truths-about-gays-for-i-am-tired-of-the/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [The first gay people we elect must be strong. They must not be content to sit in the back of the bus. They must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/the-first-gay-people-we-elect-must-be-strong-they-must-not-be-content/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Let me have my tax money go for my protection and not for my prosecution. Let my tax money go for the protection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/let-me-have-my-tax-money-go-for-my-protection-and-not-for-my/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [I wish I had time to explain everything I did. Almost everything was done with an eye on the GLBT movement...last week I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/i-wish-i-had-time-to-explain-everything-i-did-almost-everything-was/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/freedom-is-too-enormous-to-be-slipped-under-a-closet-door/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/it-takes-no-compromising-to-give-people-their-rights-it-takes-no/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to walk backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-called-me-a-faggot-i-d-be/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [“You’ve gotta give them hope. If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/you-ve-gotta-give-them-hope-if-a-bullet-should-enter-my-brain-let/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) [Explore all 69 Harvey Milk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) ## More Community quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. 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