June Is Pride Month: Equality without Exception/Pride In All Who Serve

05.26.2023

Graphics by Ryan Henkel 

Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute

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The 2023 Department of Defense’s Pride Month poster is focused on Mr. Harvey Milk, a former U.S. Navy sailor. The poster is situated on a white background.

At the poster’s top right corner is the observance title and month spread across four lines. The first line in capitalized yellow fond reads, JUNE IS. The second line in large, capitalized blue block font reads, PRIDE. The third line in smaller, capitalized red font reads, MONTH.

Across the top third and bottom third of the poster are rainbow banners. The top banner sweeps across the poster in six horizontal bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The colors in the bottom banner are reversed in six horizontal bands of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.

Beneath the observance month and title is the observance theme in capitalized, green font which reads, EQUALITY WITHOUT EXCEPTION: Beneath the observance theme is a continuing tag line in capitalized, purple font which reads, PRIDE IN ALL WHO SERVE.

On left side of the poster and taking up about half the poster is an image of Harvey Milk. The image is superimposed over the two rainbow-colored bands. Mr. Milk is wearing a brown, tweed colored jacket with light blue and white striped shirt. He wears a red, blue, and yellow striped tie which matches the colors in the observance title. The tie blows to the viewer’s left and twists and inverts in the breeze. The base photo of Harvey Milk was taken by Daniel Nicoletta in 1977, and is used courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute Archives: https://www.si.edu/object/harvey-milk:npg_NPG.2020.177

Harvey Milk wears a light blue button with illegible white writing on his left lapel. To the right of Milk’s image and on the right side of the poster is a large blowup of the blue button. The text on the button reads is spread across three lines in capitalized, white font. The top line reads, HARVEY. The second line in slightly larger font reads, MILK. Beneath his last name is a white separator line. Beneath this line another line of smaller white text which reads, HOPE WILL NEVER BE SILENT.

Beneath Milk’s picture and superimposed upon the bottom rainbow shape is the picture of a Navy ship sailing from left to right across the sea. The picture has a white border and appears as a photograph. The ship is the U.S.N.S. Harvey Milk, T-AO 206, a naval oiler and one of the U.S. Navy’s newest ships. To the left of the ship and superimposed over the left side of the photograph and upon the rainbow image is the ship’s official seal. The seal is set upon a white oval shaped image.

Within the white oval is a gold, twisted rope border around a dark navy-blue oval band. Situated around the top of the blue band is capitalized gold font which reads, U.S.N.S. Harvey Milk. Situated around the bottom of the blue band is capitalized gold font which reads, T-AO 206. Within the navy-blue bands is a white center oval background. Centered within the seal’s white center background is the seal center composed of three parts:

The top part situated on the white oval consists of a black ship’s silhouette representing the U.S.N.S. Milk sailing towards the view. Smaller naval ship silhouettes on the left and right of the Milk are being serviced by the oiler. Oiling lines in black stretch between the two ships and the Milk. Behind the Milk is a starburst like design in orange and yellow representing a rising sun. Beneath the three ships is a separator line of yellow and blue intertwined rope.

The second part consists of a light blue shield. A single black ordnance bomb is placed at the shield’s top left and right corners. A gold trident with three prongs is centered at the top center of the blue shield. Beneath the trident is an inverted orange triangle set upon a larger white triangle. Situated in the center of the orange inverted triangle is an image of an outlined yellow heart. The heart is bracketed by a grey, downward facing dolphin on each side and facing towards the tip of the inverted triangle.

The third part consists of a scrolled, yellow banner outlined in orange. Situated on the rolled banner is capitalized black font which reads, COURAGE AND CONVICTION.

At the bottom left corner are the Department of Defense and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) seals. At the bottom right corner is a white-colored symbol depicting a microphone. To the right of the microphone are two quick response codes (QRC) one above the other. The top QRC, when scanned with a mobile device, will open an audio narration with this poster description. Below the top QRC is a second QRC which directs an individual to DEOMI’s website, www.defenseculture.mil.