Throwback to this pattern that reminds us that Hope is Never Silent. We need more Harvey Milks, who was a politician and gay-rights activist during a turbulent time in history. Pattern no longer available, the designer has retired.

This movie has been on my watchlist for awhile and hearing it mentioned in a podcast earlier this evening was my cue.

Today in Labor History January 15, 1976: A judge sentenced Sara Jane Moore to life in prison. She had attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in front of the St. Francis Hotel, in San Francisco. It was the second failed attempt on Ford that year. Oliver Sipple, a gay marine veteran happened to be standing nearby and thwarted her second shot. Sipple was out of the closet and fairly well-known in the San Francisco gay scene. He was also friends with Harvey Milk, who outed Sipple to journalist Herb Caen. Milk’s rationale: "For once we can show that gays do heroic things, not just all that caca about molesting children and hanging out in bathrooms." However, Sipple who was still in the closet with respect to his family, was devastated by the fame and attention it drew. His mother disowned him. Family members refused to speak to him. The president refused to invite him to the White House or offer him a medal or commendation. Sipple sued the San Francisco Chronicle for invasion of privacy. But the courts ruled against him. His mental and physical health deteriorated after this. He started drinking heavily and was found dead in his apartment in 1989, at the age of 47.

“Hope will never be silent.”

- Harvey Milk

Born: May 22, 1930
Woodmere, New York

Killed: November 27, 1978 (aged 48)
San Francisco, California

#Onthisday #HarveyMilk #SanFrancisco

https://apnews.com/today-in-history/november-27

#HarveyMilk #LGBTQrights
“It is my duty to inform you that both Mayor [George] Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed,” said Dianne Feinstein, then president of the city’s Board of Supervisors.

Harvey Milk, One of the World’s First Openly Gay Politicians, Was Assassinated on This Day in 1978 | Smithsonian

"A disgruntled former San Francisco politician killed Milk and the city’s mayor, George Moscone."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/harvey-milk-one-of-the-worlds-first-openly-gay-politicians-was-assassinated-on-this-day-in-1978-180985464/

Today in Labor History November 27, 1978: Former cop and city supervisor Dan White assassinated San Francisco’s mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder, and only served five years in prison, based on the defense that he suffered diminished capacity due to depression, manifested in his switch from healthy foods to Twinkies and other junk foods.

This travesty of justice led to the White Night Riot, after decades of police harassment and physical abuse of San Francisco’s LGBTQ community. During the protests, people attacked the windows of City Hall and set at least a dozen cop cars on fire. When the cops tried to defend City Hall, protesters hurled rocks and bottles at them, forcing them to run inside. Protesters also busted windows in the financial district and in other government buildings. The riot caused hundreds of thousands of dollar’s-worth of property damage. And when the riot was finally subdued, the cops made a retaliatory raid on the Elephant Bar, in the Castro District, where they beat patrons and arrested 24.

The double assassination of Moscone and Milk dramatically altered the political landscape of San Francisco. Under Moscone and Milk, the city had been moving in a progressive, pro-neighborhood direction. With the new mayor, Diane Feinstein, city politics returned to the traditional, conservative, pro-Chamber of Commerce, law and order framework that preceded Moscone and Milk. And Feinstein parlayed her success as SF mayor into a long and sordid career in Congress, where she was a strong proponent of Capital Punishment, vitriolic opponent of the Green New Deal, supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and generally supported U.S. imperialist policy abroad.

Today in Labor History November 18, 1978: In Jonestown, Guyana, cult leader Jim Jones led his followers at the Peoples Temple to a mass murder–suicide. 918 people died, including more than 270 children. Members of the temple had murdered Congressman Leo Ryan hours earlier. The church’s ideology was a combination of Christian and socialist ideals, and Jim Jones had previously forged alliances with many left-wing figures, as well as many San Francisco liberals like Mayor George Moscone, Harvey Milk, Governor Jerry Brown and Willie Brown. The temple also had a reputation for aiding California’s poorest residents, especially minorities, drug addicts and homeless people, many of whom died at Jonestown.

Don’t “Drink the Koolaid.” It will kill you.

Today in Writing History August 8, 1951: Writer Randy Shilts was born. Shilts was a reporter for “The Advocate,” the “San Francisco Chronicle,” as well as for San Francisco Bay Area television stations. In the early 1980s, he was the first openly-gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. His first book was a biography of LGBT activist Harvey Milk, "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.”
His second book, “And the Band Played On” (1987), chronicled the history of the AIDS epidemic. His last book, “Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf,” (1993) examined discrimination against lesbians and gays in the military. He died of AIDS in 1994 at the age of 42.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #writing #writer #author #books #randyshilts #sanfrancisco #AIDS #HIV #harveymilk #castrostreet #lgbtq #journalism #nonfiction @bookstadon

I'm very excited to share the latest issue of #HumanisticJudaism magazine, on the theme of finding community in unexpected places!

A link to the preview version of the issue is available in the comment (subscribers and members of the SHJ can read the full issue), but the good news is that you can subscribe and get this full issue and the next 3 issues, PLUS you get full access to the archives going back to 2017 that includes content such as:

* Stories on humanistic Jewish role models like #GeneWilder, #HarveyMilk, Rep. #JamieRaskin, and #JohnnyClegg.
* Stories about important topics in the #Jewish world including #Intermarriage, #Neurodiversity, #Liturgy, and #Aging and dying
* Discussion of themes and topics that most Jewish magazines are afraid to touch including: #ScienceFiction, and #Cannabis
* Reporting on what is happening across the humanistic Jewish world

#HarveyMilk #LGBTQrights
"Some historical icons are worth remembering because they were extraordinary people who did extraordinary things. Milk should be remembered for his ordinariness."

Harvey Milk’s legacy: The gay rights icon was remarkable for a very specific reason.

"Most people are remembered for what is extraordinary about them. I think the gay rights icon is different."
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/07/harvey-milk-history-why-remarkable.html

#OnThisDay, June 25, 1978, the rainbow flag designed by Vietnam veteran and drag queen Gilbert Baker made its debut as a symbol of gay pride at the Gay Freedom Day Parade (depicted in Milk, 2008)

This is a hell of a piece to listen to on this first day of #Pride only a few days after what would have been Milk's 94th birthday. Chills.

#HarveyMilk #LGBTQ #GayRights

https://www.ttbook.org/interview/fury-and-calm-harvey-milks-memory

Today would have been #HarveyMilk's 94th #birthday. If you don't know who he was then you should find out.

I wonder what kind of #queer world we'd be living in now if he hadn't been #murdered so early in his #career....

#Gay #Lesbian #Trans #LGBT #HumanRights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkEi6zlgtz8
Pat Rocco: Harvey Milk speech in Los Angeles (1978)