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Loading ...Harvey Milk Lives
One person inspired by Harvey was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who views him as a personal hero. “I admire people who live their lives out loud,” he told 365Gay.com’s Ross Palombo. “I admire real authenticity. I admire audacity. I admire people who are hardheaded but are always open to argument. I admire courage, I admire conviction, I admire people that stand on principle and fight for other people. I admire Harvey Milk and his legacy as I admire Martin Luther King and Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela and Gandhi and others. I admire people that struggled against the odds.”
Under the influence of that admiration, Newsom defied an anti-gay state law and started issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples during San Francisco’s now-famous “winter of love.” It was that act that led to the chain of events that culminated in California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 constitutional amendment that stripped same sex couples of their newly-recognized right to civil marriage.At first glance that might seem like a bittersweet piece of Milk’s legacy, but just as it took violence to give birth to our movement, the shocking victory of Prop 8 woke a sleeping giant. A new generation of activists poured into the streets within a day of the election, protesting the tyranny of the majority that subjected our civil rights to a popular vote.
As anyone who lived through it or has seen “Milk” knows, this isn’t the first time California’s gay community was galvanized into action by a statewide measure designed to strip us of our rights. The Prop 8 of Harvey Milk’s day was a nasty little proposal known as Prop 6 or the Briggs Initiative, after its author, Assemblyman John Briggs. It would have made it illegal for lesbians and gay men to work as teachers in California, and even required the firing of any teacher who supported the right of lesbians and gay men to teach.
Harvey defied the cautious gay leadership of the day who wanted to fight Prop 6 without mentioning the word “gay” or putting the faces and stories of gay or lesbian teachers into the public eye. They wanted to do it by letting our straight liberal allies speak for us instead. And they wanted a top-down, politics-as-usual campaign.
Instead, Harvey blitzed up and down California, debating Briggs in a hundred town halls. He paired up with lesbian activist and teacher Sally Gearhart and got on every news and talk show in the state. He begged, pleaded, and insisted that every lesbian and gay man in California had to come out to our parents, friends, and co-workers, because “They vote two to one for us, when they know one of us.” He didn’t just think putting a face on our struggle was good politics; he thought it was the only thing that would actually work.
Prop 6 was the California version of anti-gay ballot initiatives that were passing all over the country, part of Anita Bryant’s “Save the Children” campaign. “Florida, Oklahoma, Wichita, Eugene, St. Paul,” remembered Jones. “All of the early gay rights ordinances that had been passed by slim majorities on city councils were being subjected to referenda. And we were losing and losing and losing.”
Next page: Milk was right
**Barb, continue reading Leviticus sweetheart, he (she) does’nt look too kind on WOMEN, hope you enjoying those MONTHLY CRAMPS and that Bleeding gash! Your kind ate that darn apple Right? (Gosh darn, I have Palin moment coming on!!) Hmm.
So it’s all your fault! LET me get my stones ready! You filthy disgusting vile sinner! ehhh.
And if you ate seafood lately or any grilled meat or if you let your husband (god forbid someone even married your ugly self) then you are even worse a sinner and we better get some really big stones for you!
Love how you passed the 4th grade and you find 3 things in your little bible to tell someone what GOD wants, etc.
Who died and made you god or anyone else on this earth?
So take your tired, hateful ass right on to the afterlife and leave us all alone….
Barb Said: “God does not look kindly on the gay life.”
I do not look kindly on your evil, hate-filled god or his religious fanatical following.
God does not look kindly on the gay life.
Judges 19:1-30
Leviticus 18:22
Leviticus 20:13
The “Milk” movie is currently in limited engagement mode. It will open nationwide on Friday, December 5th!!!
Curently this movie is getting a 93/100 rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, so that’s a good sign!
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009495-milk/
Thank you so much for this, I got to it through Daily Kos. It has helped to inform me about something very close to me because of my relatives.
“For the chains and bars are not on me.Worn by the ones who is strong of fear, stupidity & plain ignorance”.
I doubt anyone knows where this statement is from.
Why is this movie so impossible to see?! Boycott Cinemark?!? How can you boycott a theater where it’s not playing. In fact, it’s not really playing anywhere. It’s at two theaters in all of LA. I saw it was only in 3 in San Francisco. One being the Castro Theater (which is interesting since they never play first run films except for festivals.) It says limited release. Will that change to unlimited at any point? The only city where it seems to be playing at more that a handful of theaters is New York. I can’t find any info about that…
Oh, I was 11 when he was killed. I still remember seeing it on the news. I think that was the first time it occurred to me that being gay could get you hurt, or worse. Who needs to learn that in 6th grade?!
Please don’t go to ANY Cinemark owned theaters (Cinemark, Century, CinéArts,
and Tinseltown) to watch the new “Milk” movie. The CEO of Cinemark, Alan Stock, donated $9,999 dollars to Yes on Prop. 8. Click here for more info. Here is the website in case the link doesn’t work:
http://nomilkforcinemark.com/
The mention of thirty vs forty years needs to be posted to the review of the film… I had 30 on this article, but Brian had 40 in his review.
I’ll send him a note.
One minor error in an other wise great review. It was 30 years ago, not 40 years ago. I remember driving my car and hearing on the radio that the mayor and a supervisor had been shot and killed at city hall. My immediate reaction was that it was probably Milk, and I was very sad to learn shortly after that it was. I did not know Harvey well, but I did shop at his camera store regularly (the days of Super8 film!).
“The difference today… there are so few gay politicians with leadership qualities, and many celebrities coming OUT, but are not politically involved.”
If only Rachel Maddow wasn’t too busy, or cared about gay politics.
I’ve only been out to myself about 2 years now. Not too long after the realization I began reading about Harvey Milk. I was sixteen when he died. I remembered it as history but that was all. When I began reading about Harvey I immediately saw what a loss his death was to our community and to others as well. He made me want to come out to everyone. When straights and gays would say things such as, “Why is it anyone’s business what we do in our own bedrooms?” I would think of Harvey and what he believed. That letting people know that they know more gay people than they think and that we are normal the way we are. Not monsters as we are painted, but thier sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, coworkers, doctors, etc. That the very act of coming out is a mighty thing indeed. I wish we could all come out as he wished and never crawl back in the closet. He knew living honestly was the best thing we could do for the movement. Not always the easiest, but the best.
I have a tattoo on my arm that says “Erase Hate” underneath it is the date Matthew Shepard died and underneath that another date of a killing caused by senseless hate, then yesterday I added to it. The quote ” You gotta give them hope.” and then the date Nov. 27, 1978.
I did it to honor Harvey and to remind me to work towards that end.
I hope this movie shows people just who Harvey was and what he did for the “us’s”. There are so many even in the LGBT community who don’t know who he is. That’s sad. But it will change.
Thanks for letting me rant.
I came out in ‘83 at the age of 22. The movie “The Times of Harvey Milk” made a major impact on me. (As did buying TONS of gay lit and plowing my way through it. On the short list, thank you Armisted Maupin, Edmund White, and Ethan Mordden.) The whole documentary is great, but I particularly loved the speech in which he said, “[You can react to local bigotry] by moving to San Francisco. [pause for effect] Or you can stay in Des Moines and fight for your rights there.” Darn right!
Harvey Milk is one of the reasons why I decided to live a very openly gay life. My mother–who wasn’t particularly helpful or explicitly supportive of me being openly gay in the 80’s and 90’s–said a year ago or so, “All the progress we are seeing is due to all those brave people who fought hard twenty years ago.” That’s the closest she’ll come to saying that she’s proud of me.
Thanks, mom. Thanks, Harvey!
Thank you, Jerry!
During the 60’s, the politics of assassination was on a national scale JFK,MLK,RFK, and most of our hope, for a better America died with our leaders. In the 70’s, San Francisco gay community was made up of many segments, and transplants like Harvey from N.Y. and myself from Chicago and others from big cities or small town USA. However, it should not be over looked… we had help from
Mayor Moscone, who showed up at our sporting events, spoke to the Gay Golden gate Business Association, appointed gays to his administration and wrote letters to the gay newspapers… and marched with us, when it was not yet fashionable for a non-gay politician to be seen in our community. The “MILK” movie, will introduce both Harvey and George to generations who had no idea who they were… or how they died. The difference today… there are so few gay politicians with leadership qualities, and many celebrities coming OUT, but are not politically involved. In my lifetime, we have had great successes… many that had their roots in the early gay S.F. movements, that have made
their ways throughout America’s big cities… but until there
are gay rights in small and rural America… the fight goes on. But it won’t happen, unless we all are involved and know our history… we can, together make the changes needed… and the time for change is alway NOW!