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November 16, 2008 at 12:08:09
Milk and the White Night Riots by Rady Ananda Page 1 of 5 page(s) |
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"Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight!" - Harvey Milk Flyer created and distributed by Lesbians Against Police Violence and The Stonewall Coalition [mixed-gender lesbian/gay organization allied with LAPV] in summer 1979 in the aftermath of the White Night Riots; likely drawn by Emily Siegel. – Maggie Jochild Gay rights icon Harvey Milk (1930-1978) has been the subject of numerous books and movies, including the Academy Award–winning 1984 documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk. His life is also the basis of a 2008 major motion picture, Milk, starring Academy Award winner Sean Penn and directed by Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant. 
1979 flyer; hat tip to Maggie's Meta Watershed blogspot
Milk premiered on Thursday in Beverly Hills at The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, where a candlelight vigil ensued in remembrance of Harvey Milk and in grief over reported results that California passed Proposition 8, the same sex marriage ban. The film opens nationwide on Nov. 26th.
Milk is timely and highly relevant, given the ongoing assault on LGBT dignity with reported passage of laws designed to legitimize second-class status. The elections of 2004 and 2008 saw passage of discriminatory laws in over a dozen states. This increases Milk's stature as an icon for equality for all.
As an important aside, because all election results that stem from undetectably mutable software are questionable, reported passage of Proposition 8 is likewise in question. The LGBT community has hooked up with election integrity advocates who are now investigating California's vote on Prop 8. California residents are urged to assist in Velvet Revolution's efforts by contacting them; see this mail to link at bottom of the VR post.
Burrowing through mountains of information on Milk led to this collection of videos, photos, personal accounts and background on the riots that resulted when this icon was martyred for championing populist causes, including equal treatment for lesbians and gays.
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Born May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York, on Long Island, Milk studied math at the NY State College for Teachers (now University at Albany). After graduating college in 1951, he joined the Navy, eventually becoming a diving instructor at the San Diego Naval Station. By the time of his 1955 discharge, Milk achieved the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.
He taught high school for a while, then worked as an actuarial statistician at an insurance firm, and later researched for a Wall Street firm. Frightened by government expansion, he worked for conservative Republican Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. But by 1970, he became disillusioned with the US invasion of Cambodia, and later, with gay bashing by San Francisco police. According to biographer Randy Shilts, Milk finally adopted populist political sentiments by the time he started running for public office.
SF's Socio-Politico-Economic Climate in the 1970s
Milk took a long circuitous route to San Francisco, before settling there in the early 1970s. In 1972, he opened a shop, Castro Camera, with his partner Scott Smith. Although he acknowledged his homosexuality at age 14, he stayed in the closet for years. He moved to Castro during its transition from a blue-collar Irish Catholic neighborhood to a service based economy. That transition wrought economic disaster as factories moved out of San Francisco. Wiki reports:
"San Francisco had been 'a city of villages': a decentralized city with ethnic enclaves that each surrounded its own main street. As the downtown area developed, neighborhoods suffered, including Castro Street.... [S]hops shut down, and houses were abandoned and shuttered. In 1963, real estate prices plummeted when most of the working-class families tried to sell their houses quickly after a gay bar opened in the neighborhood....
more...The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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Reacting to Proposition 8
Tens of thousands across America protest marriage ban --Gay marriage supporters rally across United States 15 Nov 2008 Thousands of gay marriage advocates held boisterous rallies Saturday across the United States and abroad in a coordinated protest of California's vote this month to ban same-sex marriage. Prop. 8 opponents rally across California to protest gay-marriage ban 15 Nov 2008 Gay-rights advocates gathered across the state by the thousands today to protest California's passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. In Los Angeles, protesters clustered shoulder to shoulder near City Hall before setting off on a downtown march, chanting and carrying rainbow flags and signs bearing messages such as "No More Mr. Nice Gay" and "No on Hate." Was Prop 8 Actually Defeated?? As we think about the possibility that Prop 8 was not really passed by California's voters, let's note something that the press, and others, won't discuss: i.e., that the entire apparatus of computerized voting in this country--the e-voting machines and op-scans and central tabulators, etc.--is largely owned by members of the Christianist far right. (again, much thanks to Lori Price of CLG: http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute) And remember OpEdNews, too! Click here to donate. by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 16, 2008 at 12:36:53 PM  (0+)
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WOW!
Thanks for a great article - I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing the movie now! by Meryl Ann Butler (70 articles, 82 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 722 comments [29 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 16, 2008 at 2:00:01 PM (0+)
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Reply: these are the times
I need media access to Hollywood... I wanna review this movie, but can only provide background info... of course, I have no doubt the film will be worthy cuz I have yet to see Sean Penn do any film that didn't have social meaning. by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Sunday, Nov 16, 2008 at 3:12:14 PM (0+)
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Reply: Harvey Milk
Thanks for this. Hope you get media access, I look forward to your review. by sliphoch (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 110 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 at 3:35:19 PM (0+)
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Thanks also, for posting this
You don’t see how really unfair our courts are until you examine cases like this. If Connecticut State Police will allow “Gay Bashing” to go on for years, doing nothing, except cover the problem up, it shows the system isn’t working. [Gay Bashing Post] If we had Grand Juries, not corrupt judges there would not be so much judicial and citizen abuse as described above [Grand Jury legislation] It is time to abolish judges. There should be Grand Juries with limited terms, who are independent. We should have a Supreme “Grand Jury”. Judges are corrupted before they are even sworn in. by Steven G. Erickson (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 57 diaries, 218 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 at 3:53:09 PM (0+)
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