LGBTQ Agenda: New podcast episode looks at late SF supe Harry Britt
Devlyn Camp, a genderqueer podcaster and — as it turns out — historian, talks about their work with a bubbly, contagious enthusiasm that comes across clearly on the phone even from 3,000 miles away.
Calling Camp exuberant might still be an understatement. On the other hand, they have a lot to be excited about.Camp, 30, has just released the latest installment in their ongoing podcast series, "Queer Serial", exploring this time the legacy of Harry Britt, San Francisco´s lesser known but important successor to Harvey Milk following Milk's assassination in 1978. "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!
Keeping Harvey Milk's Dream Alive" examines the life of a man, it turns out, that most people don't know that much about. Britt died in 2020 at the age of 82."Harry Britt took on the job as the only openly gay elected official in the country during some of the most violent years for American queer communities," Queer Serial's promo materials for the series states. "He was a powerful and effective gay leader, even as his district became the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, and all while battling his own inner demons, compulsions, and confusion about his gender."In 2009, San Francisco historian Will Roscoe recorded 20 hours of interviews with Britt with the idea that, eventually, the recordings would be fodder for a book.
Besides talking about his relationship with Milk, and why Milk, before he was killed, suggested Britt as his successor, Roscoe delved into a great deal of his personal history and struggles.
