Harvey Milk
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| Milk as a college student. |
Harvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, Long Island, New York. He attended University of Albany, which was at that time was the New York College for Teachers, and graduated in 1951. In college, he was very active working as a sports reporter for the State College News. Joseph Perisco, a fellow college student with Milk, says he remember Milk, "...often engaged in needling athletes about their performances." He majored in mathematics, he was part of the Jewish fraternity Kappa Beta, and was involved in intramural sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball. He was also a member of the intercollegiate wrestling team, and was involved in student government. Also in the 1950's Milk served in the military, as a member of the Navy. He was stationed on a submarine rescue ship during the Korean War and also in San Diego as a naval dive instructor, but was then honorably discharged in 1955.
Harvey then found himself involved in a relationship with Jack McKinley, through which he found himself employed and working with the Broadway production of HAIR. Harvey was then brought to San Fransisco due to HAIR's opening there and it is said to be there that Harvey got his "new found liberalism, his charisma, weird sense of humor, and belief in politics as theater, set the stage for his San Francisco political career" (thecastro.net). After returning to New York after production, his relationship with Jack went south and he then found a new love interest, Joseph Scott Smith.
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| Harvey in front of his camera shop |
In 1972, Harvey and his lover Scott, headed back out to San Fransisco. There they began their new life but soon started suffering financially and had to move once again. This time, they would join the amassing number of gays congregating on Castro Street. Castro street already had a booming population of gays and had two gay bars that had large success because of service to gay hippies like Harvey and Scott. It is there that Harvey began making his way onto the political scene of San Fransisco. There they also opened up a camera shop called Castro Camera, which was hardly a store at all. It consisted of a chair and a desk, along with the bare essential camera supplies with the rest of the space serving as a type of living room with couches and lounge chairs. It is said that the single chair in the shop was more to provide a comfortable seat while Harvey entertained them with his charisma and latest political plans. It would be there that served as Harvey's political and campaign headquarters. Scott and Harvey also lived in a flat above the store.
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| Button for Milk's first campaign |
Harvey began his official political career in 1973, when he ran for both Board of Supervisors and State Assembly, unsuccessfully. For the Board of Supervisors, he came in tenth place out of 32 with about 17,000 votes. He did however use every chance he could get to get his name out to the people and build up status. He also never stopped working for the issues in the gay community that he felt were important. It was this relentlessness and dedication to the cause that earned him the nickname "Mayor of Castro Street". It is believed that Harvey coined the nickname himself but it seemed to stick and he played the role to the fullest. He fought for labor unions by getting the gay community to boycott Coors beer,
as well as formed a political alliance between the gay and Chinese communities. In speeches made throughout his political campaigns, he gained popularity by addressing that "true function of politics is not just to pass laws, but to give hope". It would later be said by Harvey himself in one of his recorded wills, that "you gotta give 'em hope".
Harvey then ran again for Board of Supervisors in 1975, and once again lost, coming in seventh, but this time with over 52,000 votes. Then once again, he lost in his race for California State Assembly. However his attempts for public office finally paid off in 1977, when he was elected for Board of Supervisors. It could be said that a key factor in his winning was the shift from citywide elections to district elections, which he himself helped organize. It helped Harvey capitalize on his attention and popularity in the Castro and its inhabitants.
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| Candlelit March |
Since Harvey Milk's death, he has been a symbol for equality not just in the gay community, but for the human population as a whole. He always fought for equality. Never did he leave anyone out. He has even received a posthumous, Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama on August 12, 2009. This medal is the highest civilian award. It was presented by his nephew, Stuart Milk, who is also a homosexual. President Obama stated that, "For
much of his early life, he had silenced himself. In the prime of his
life, he was silenced by the act of another. But in the brief time in
which he spoke--and ran, and led--his voice stirred the aspirations of
millions of people. He would become, after several attempts, one of the
first openly gay Americans elected to public office. And his message of
hope--hope unashamed, hope unafraid--could not ever be silenced. It was
Harvey who said it best: 'You gotta give 'em hope.'"
Dan White
Dan White a San Francisco resident was born September 2 1946, grew up in
a Roman Catholic family. After service in the United States Army White became a
Policeman and then worked at the San Francisco Fire Department in 1974. During
his training for the fire department White started a petition for three black
trainees who were about to be kicked out of the program. During that time the
department was under federal decree to hire more minorities but would find
reasons to flunk them. With Dan’s help in the petition and tutoring the
students after class he was successful in securing their position in the fire
department. In
1977, despite only having a high school education Dan White was elected to the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors with the help of his campaign manager Ray
Sloan who was Gay. Whites position represented District 8, which included neighborhoods
in southeastern San Francisco. Ray Sloan said that his homosexuality was never
a problem with Dan “"It was never
discussed, even though he had to have known about it," Sloan says.
"It just wasn't an issue."( Geluardi pg 5) During that time Harvey Milk was elected to the
Board of Supervisors also. Harvey and Dan became friends, Dan even inviting him
to his son’s baptism. Sloan also said "Dan
had more in common with Harvey than he did with anyone else on the board,"
Sloan says. "They were both proud of their military service, they both
hated big money interests, and they both represented people on the political
margins. And neither was afraid of a fight." White voted in favor of
Harvey many times including his Pride Center ordinance.
In April 1978, the Catholic Church proposed building
a facility for juvenile offenders who had committed crimes in White's district.
Dan White, didn't like the idea of criminals in his neighborhood, and was strongly
pressured by his fellow neighbors to reject the proposal. When the center was
up for votes White thought Milk would be on his side but Harvey was in favor of
it. That event caused damage to their friendship. White didn’t consider milk
his friend anymore and began voting against all Harvey’s ordinances. White was
the only supervisor who voting against Milks Gay rights ordinance. The
political pressures of the office began to wear on White. With the birth his
child Charles, his snack-food business at Pier 39 with Sloan, financial
problems, Dan White slipped into a state of depression. On November 10 1978 Dan White decided to resign from his supervisor
position stating that his 9,600 salary was not enough to support his family.
Eight days later after receiving pressure from his campaign manager Ray Sloan,
friends, police and fire union members about his resignation White asked Mayor
Moscone to re appoint him as supervisor. At first, the Mayor agreed, stating that
a man has a right to change his mind, but then on November 26 decided to
appoint someone else instead. Harvey was one who helped influence the Mayor,
lobbying against Whites reappointment. After hearing on the news that he would not be reappointed
Dan White went to City Hall to talk to the Mayor.
On
November 27th Mr. White crawled into City Hall through a basement
window to avoid the metal detectors because he was hiding a gun and bullets in
his pocket. White walked to the second * floor to meet with the Mayor in his
private office trying to persuade him to give his position back. After refusing
Dan White shot Mayor Moscone four times, reloaded his gun and fled the office.
Crossing City Hall White found Harvey Milk and asked to talk to him in his old
office. After explaining his failure to get his old job back White is quoted to
say, “ Harvey smirked at me and I shot him”. On May 1st Whites trial
began, pleading diminished capacity in court. May 21, 1979 White was convicted
of voluntary manslaughter, prison time seven years and eight months with the
possibility of early release for good behavior. Dan White served five years and
seven months in Soledad State Prison. Just two years after his release White
committed suicide on October 21, 1985 by asphyxiation in his San Francisco
garage.
In the 2008 movie Milk, Dan
White is played by actor Josh Brolin. He was first introduced to the movie when
Gus Van Sant the director of Milk sent him over a copy of the script. Immediately
Brolin fell in love with it and decided to be involved with the project. In an
interview with Rebecca Murray about the part of Dan White Brolin said, “I was a
little scared and I went down there and everybody who I talked to said, 'You’re
playing Dan White.' And I was like, 'Yeah.' And they were like, 'That’s so
great. We’re so happy you’re involved and so happy you’re doing this movie,'"
Brolin portrayal of Dan White earned him a Oscar nomination for best supporting
actor in 2008.
Cleve Jones
At the age of 20 Cleve
Jones had left his phoenix home and moved to California. While walking down
Castro Street in San Francisco he met Harvey Milk, a man who changed his life
forever. While attending San Francisco State University studying political
science Jones became Harvey’s protégé and student intern during his campaign
for city supervisor. In an interview with The Washington Post Jones said
"I needed a father figure, and Harvey was really such an appropriate
mentor, He was extraordinarily kind to me and saw strengths in me that I didn't
even know I had." (McCarthy pg1) Cleve Jones became a strong Gay rights
activist and political leader. Following in Harvey Milks footsteps, Jones went
to work in the district office of State Assemblyman Art Agnos. In 1982 Cleve
Jones with help from Dr. Marcus Conant create Kaposi's Sarcoma Foundation to
provide information and resources for San Francisco men. Later becoming the AIDS
foundation for San Francisco, which is one of the most influential AIDS
foundations in the United States. And in 1986 Jones creates the first panel for
an AIDS memorial quilt. The quilt was made for Jones’s friend Marvin Feldman
who had dies of AIDS. Eventually in June 1978 the quilt project turned into the
NAMES project that is still active today. Jones is now a leading human rights activist
and known for his historical work with AIDS and gay rights. After Milks
assassination Jones vowed "For the rest of my life I will do whatever I
can do to keep your name alive."(McCarthy pg1) And one way that Jones has
kept Harvey’s memory alive was working on the movie Milk. Cleve and Gus
Van Sant the director of Milk were
friends for 18 years before the filming on Milk
began. During their friendship Cleve always wanted Van Sant to direct a film
about Harvey and was extremely happy with the finished product in 2008. Cleve
was also Milk writer Dustin Blacks major source for his screenplay. Much of the
Harvey Milk stories and information came from Cleve Jones. Throughout the movie
Jones became the historical consultant and helped keep the facts straight and
the film accurate. Recently Cleve Jones has been working with UNITE here an
organization that represents workers throughout the United States.
Emile Hirsch plays Cleve
Jones in the film Milk. Hirsch a strong up and coming actor who started acting
when he was 15 and had his breakout performance in the film Into the Wild directed
by Sean Penn. Cleve Jones says that Hirsch's onscreen portrayal of him was
heartily endorsed by some people who have known Jones for a long time: Jones'
mother, father and sister. "They all agree that Emile really did it,"
Jones says. "I had that big silly hair." Hirsch really
was able to embody Cleve Jones as a character and gave a great performance in Milk.
Anne Kronenberg
Anne Kronenberg was Harvey Milk's campaign manager for his
winning run for city supervisor. She also served as his primary political aide
at City hall. She is now the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation and is a
LGBT rights activist across the globe and currently holds the position of
Executive Director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. Kronenberg
served as a advisor for the film and did a cameo appearance like many other
consultants for the film.
Kronenberg was portrayed in the film by Alison Pill. She was
one of the only female roles in the whole movie, which emphasized the patriarchy
that was prominent in the film. She was framed as the mediator between the gay
men and lesbians in politics and society during the time of Milks campaign. When
introduced she had to find a way to fit into the group and form relationships
with the other members of Harvey’s Anne was identified as a lesbian in the film
and in her earlier life, but later on married and had children with a man, adopting
a heterosexual orientation, which she received stigma for it.
Anita Bryant
Anita Bryant is a singer and former beauty queen. She was a sponsor
the Florida Citrus Commission. In 1977 Bryant led a campaign to repeal an anti-discriminatory
ordinance in Dade County Florida. Her group “Save Our Children” aimed to
degrade homosexuality. She did prevail in the repeal but many Gay right’s
supporters began to boycott Bryant and the orange juice company she was a sponsor
for, incorporating the slogan “Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges”. Due to the negative
coverage, the company dropped her as a sponsor. Because of her anti-homosexual
stances she became one of the faces associated with homophobia and bigotry.
Dan
Nicoletta started his photography career in 1975 as an assistant to Crawford
Barton for the Advocate magazine. Nicoletta was 19 when he met Harvey Milk. He said
“Scott and Harvey were like my first gay parents in SF, so the release of the
movie about our lives was incredibly poignant for me...” Referencing
the release of Milk in 2008. During
his time in San Francisco he worked at Harvey Milks camera store in the Castro.
Nicoletta helped during Milks campaign and his photographs of the events
surrounding the gay rights movement were and are very popular. After Milks
death he went on to document Milks influence on the LGBT civil rights through
photography. His photography was used in The Times of Harvey Milk documentary,
as well as in the book Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts. Dan is now a
freelance photographer in San Francisco. During the production of the movie Milk his photographs gave reference to
the art direction of the film. Dan also helped as a historical consultant for
the film and was even an extra in a few scenes. Lucas Grabeel a 23-year-old
actor played Dan Nicoletta in Milk.
Grabeel an up and coming actor became popular for him roles in High School
Musical and many television series. Grabeel posted this quote to his official
site in preparation for the upcoming release of Milk. “"Earlier this year I was in a movie that changed my
life... Milk. I shot for a month in San Francisco with one of my favorite
directors, Gus Van Sant, and a hugely talented cast that exposed me to a
completely new realm of film making. It will also be a movie that is completely
different that anything else I've done. The story is about a very important
man, Harvey Milk. (Google him) He was the first openly-homosexual elected
political official in the United States, in 1978.” Dan Nicoletta was a close friend to Harvey Milk and his
character addition from Lucas Grabeel to the film Milk was an important element for it to be historically accurate. 
