Harvey Milk 195306 226110175 2008-07-16T21:29:31Z RussBot 279219 Robot-assisted fix [[WP:DPL|links to disambiguation page]] Liberal {{otheruses}} {{Infobox Officeholder | name = Harvey Milk | image = harvey milk.jpg | imagesize = 225px | caption = [[United States|American]] politician and [[LGBT social movements|LGBT right]]s activist | office = [[Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors|Member]] of the <br>[[San Francisco Board of Supervisors]] <br>from the 5<sup>th</sup> district | term_start = [[8 January]] [[1978]] | term_end = [[27 November]] [[1978]] | predecessor = [[Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors|n/a]] | successor = [[Harry Britt]] (appointed) | constituency = [[The Castro, San Francisco, California|The Castro]], [[LGBT]] people, [[Trade union|Labor unions]] | majority = | birth_date = {{birth date|1930|5|22|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Woodmere, New York]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1978|11|27|1930|5|22|mf=y}} | death_place = [[San Francisco, California]] | nationality = [[United States|American]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] | relations = [[Scott Smith]] | residence = [[San Francisco, California]] | alma_mater = [[University at Albany]] | religion = [[Jewish]] }} '''Harvey Bernard Milk''' ([[22 May]] [[1930]] – [[27 November]] [[1978]]) was an [[United States|American]] politician and [[gay rights]] activist, and the first [[coming out|openly]] [[gay]] [[city supervisor]] of [[San Francisco, California]].<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He was, according to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, "the first openly gay man elected to any substantial political office in the history of the planet." As the "Mayor of [[The Castro|Castro Street]]," he was active during a time of substantial change in San Francisco politics and increasing visibility of gay and lesbian people in American society.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He was assassinated in 1978, along with Mayor [[George Moscone]], by then recently-resigned city supervisor [[Dan White]] making him a [[LGBT]] community "[[martyr]]".<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> White's relatively mild sentence for the murders led to the [[White Night Riots]], and eventually the abolition of [[diminished responsibility|diminished capacity]] defense in California. Milk has been the subject of numerous books and movies -- including the 1984 documentary ''[[The Times of Harvey Milk]]'' -- which received an Academy Award and was later converted into an opera. In May 2008, to coincide with his birthdate, a bust of Milk was placed in [[San Francisco City Hall]]'s ceremonial rotunda. This is the first memorial to an [[closeted|openly]] [[gay]] person to be featured so prominently in a public building. ==Biography== ===Early life=== Milk was born in [[Woodmere, New York]] and was the grandson of Morris Milk, owner and namesake of Milk's Department Store.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> As an adolescent, he was nicknamed "Glimpy" due to his large ears, nose, and feet.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}<!---possibly true but we should source this---> He graduated from Bay Shore High School, [[Bay Shore, NY]] in 1947, graduated from [[University at Albany]] in 1951 and the [[New York College for Teachers]],<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> and then joined the [[United States Navy]]. He was [[Military discharge#Honorable|honorably discharged]], although he later told voters during his campaigns that he was a victim of one of the many anti-gay purges of the armed services. Following his service in the Navy, Milk lived for a time in [[Dallas, Texas]]. He relocated to [[New York City]], taught high school mathematics and history on Long Island and took a job on [[Wall Street]].<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He also became involved in theater, serving as [[assistant director]] alongside [[Tom O'Horgan]] for a number of plays including ''[[Lenny (play)|Lenny]]'' and the [[musical theatre|musical]] ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]''. In 1972, Milk moved to San Francisco.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He settled with his [[significant other|partner]] Scott Smith and opened a camera store, Castro Camera, in [[the Castro]] [[gay village]]. He emerged as a community leader, founding the Castro Valley Association of local merchants, and represented the neighborhood businesses in dealing with the city government. ===Public office=== {{quote|This is not my victory -- it's yours. If a gay man can win, it proves that there is hope for all minorities who are willing to fight.|''Harvey Milk - election night comment to supporters.''<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/>}} Milk had two unsuccessful bids for the [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors]], in both 1973 and 1975.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He emerged as a figurehead for San Francisco's large [[gay community]], and was known as the "[[Castro Street|Mayor of Castro Street]]". With each campaign, he garnered a larger number of supporters. Milk was successful in reaching out to and making alliances with the city's ethnic populations, and with labor union leaders. However, he was less successful with the rank and file of San Francisco Democratic Party members. Between his 1973 and 1975 elections he established the Castro Village Association of local merchants which is now known as the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> The year 1975 was a "[[wiktionary:Watershed|watershed]]" year in San Francisco politics with Mayor [[Joseph Alioto]] being termed out of office with [[George Moscone]] emerging as the leading liberal mayoral candidate.<ref name="Shilts mayor 99"/> In the city-wide elections, Milk emerged as a strong supervisor candidate because of his tireless campaigning and use of media to keep his name in the front of potential voters' minds. Moscone won his campaign to be mayor and credited [[LGBT]] people for the win; Milk nearly won, coming in seventh - with 17,000 votes - for the six-person board.<ref name="Forging Gay Identities">{{cite web | last = Armstrong | first =Elizabeth A. | title=Forging Gay Identities: Organizing Sexuality in San Francisco | publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] | date=2002, page 126 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=EvBMyR1hr2wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22harvey+milk%22+1975+election+supervisor&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-06-05}}</ref><ref name="Shilts mayor 129">{{cite web | last=Shilts | first=Randy | title=The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk | publisher=[[Macmillan]] | date=1988, page 129 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=4a1kGmwXn3IC&dq=%22harvey+milk%22+%22jim+jones%22+%22art+agnos%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-06-05}}</ref> Moscone appointed Milk to the Board of Permit Appeals, thereby making Milk "the city's principal - if not yet elected - gay politician" and the first openly gay [[commissioner]] in the country.<ref name="Forging Gay Identities"/><ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> In 1976, Milk built a coalition of [[labor unions]] and neighborhood groups to replace the city-wide elections with district elections. The initiative was placed on the November 1976 ballot, with Mayor Moscone campaigning in support to help it win voter approval.<ref name="Forging Gay Identities"/> Milk started another campaign (hoping to capitalize on his name recognition), this time in the 1976 race for the [[California State Assembly]] against [[Art Agnos]], who would win the seat by 3,600 votes out of 33,000 ballots cast. Among Milk's supporters was the controversial religious and political figure [[Jim Jones]], who is infamous for the [[Peoples Temple]] church he headed and the [[Jonestown]] [[mass suicide]] that he orchestrated after the group relocated to northwestern [[Guyana]]. Jones had been appointed Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Commission with the help of the Peoples Temple, which was also instrumental in the 1975 election victory of mayor Moscone. The charismatic Jones could direct "hundreds of volunteers who could work tirelessly for the candidates of his choosing," referring to his influence on the members of Peoples Temple. <ref name="Jonestown Life">[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html ''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple'']. PBS.org.</ref><ref name="Shilts mayor 99">{{cite web | last=Shilts | first=Randy | title=The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk | publisher=[[Macmillan]] | date=1988, page 99 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=4a1kGmwXn3IC&dq=%22harvey+milk%22+%22jim+jones%22+%22art+agnos%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-06-05}}</ref> Milk, like Moscone and Milk's opponent in the same race, Agnos, had help from their volunteers in his campaigns.<ref name="Another Day of Death">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919893-1,00.html ''Another Day of Death''] Time Magazine, December 11, 1978</ref> Effective with the 1977 city elections, the switch to district elections ushered in the most diverse [[Board of Supervisors]] the city had ever seen. Milk was the first [[closeted|openly]] [[gay]] elected official of any large city in the United States, and only the third openly gay elected official in all of the United States, after [[Kathy Kozachenko]] and [[Elaine Noble]]. Milk represented District 5, which included the Castro and was aware of the tremendous [[discrimination]] and prejudice that confronted gays and lesbians.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> The diverse board included the former police officer and firefighter [[Dan White]], as well as the gay and [[Liberalism|liberal]] Milk. White had to resign from being a firefighter because San Francisco charter barred people from holding two city jobs at the same time, so he took up a second job to supplement the pay downgrade; running a restaurant business, which failed.<ref name="Dan White: The City Hall Killer">{{cite web | title=Dan White: The City Hall Killer | publisher=A&E's Crime and Investigation Network | date=2007 | url =http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/famous_criminal/60/biography/2/Dan_White_The_City_Hall_Killer.htm | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> White, a [[Roman Catholic]] and outspoken anti-gay conservative was elected with strong support from the city's police union in part to fight "official tolerance of crime and of overt homosexuality" was a counterpoint to Milk, an outspoken liberal who "frequently opposed him on the board."<ref name="Dan White AKA Daniel James White">{{cite web | title=Dan White AKA Daniel James White | publisher=[[Notable Names Database]] | date=2007 | url =http://www.nndb.com/people/114/000055946/ | accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref><ref name="The Time 100: Heroes and Icons"/><ref name="Dan White, Killer of San">{{cite web | last =Lindsey | first =Robert | title=Dan White, Killer of San Francisco Mayor, A Suicide | publisher=[[New York Times]] | date=October 22, 1985 | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E07E2DE1039F931A15753C1A963948260 | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref><ref name="Getting Off?: Depression as a defense">{{cite web | title=Getting Off?: Depression as a defense | publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=May 28, 1979 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947318,00.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> Milk "championed the cause of those with little power against downtown corporations and real estate developers" and campaigned "especially hard for the rights of [[senior citizen]]s."<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> Milk, along with legal assistant [[Sally Gearhart]], became highly visible in the media while debating [[California State Senate|California Senator]] [[John Briggs (politician)|John Briggs]] throughout the state on ''[[California Proposition 6 (November 1978)|Proposition 6]]'', [[The Briggs Initiative]], to "prohibit homosexuals from teaching in California public schools,"<ref name="A Brief History Of Homosexuality">{{cite web | title=A Brief History Of Homosexuality In America | publisher=St. Louis University Safezone | url =http://safezone.slu.edu/resources_reading.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> a topic on which White and Milk "were sharply divided"<ref name="Film: 'The Times of Harvey Milk">{{cite web | title= Film: 'The Times of Harvey Milk,' A Documentary | publisher=[[New York Times]] | date=October 27, 1984 | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E4D61539F934A15753C1A962948260 | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> because it would have empowered California school boards to fire teachers that "practiced, advocated, or indicated an acceptance of homosexuality."<ref name="What You Get for Hit and Run">{{cite web | last =Mak | first =Maxwell | title=What You Get for Hit and Run: A Look at the City Hall Murders and the Dan White Murder Trial | publisher=[[UC Davis]] | date=2000-2001 | url =http://prizedwriting.ucdavis.edu/past/2000-2001/mak.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> Milk also sponsored a [[pooper-scooper]] ordinance and a San Francisco law barring "anti-gay discrimination" in the workplace which passed<ref name="The Time 100: Heroes and Icons pg 2">{{cite web | last =Cloud | first =John | title=The Time 100: Heroes and Icons - Harvey Milk | publisher=[[Time (magazine)]] | date=June 14, 1999 | url =http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/milk02.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> the same time the Briggs Initiative failed. Days later, White resigned his city supervisor seat, citing too little salary to support his family and stated that he was "unhappy with the ethics he found in the political world."<ref name="Dan White, Killer of San"/> White's supporters convinced him to rescind his resignation but he was denied by the "liberal-leaning" Mayor Moscone largely at the urging of Milk, who advised Moscone to use the opportunity to get a [[Liberalism|liberal]] majority on the Board. Milk and Moscone were friends, and Milk reminded Moscone that the mayor's re-election would be difficult without the gay vote and that many of Moscone's proposals had been defeated because of the [[conservative]] majority.<ref name="Dan White: He got away with Murder!">{{cite web | last =Donald | first =Uncle | title=Dan White: He got away with Murder! | publisher=Castro Street | date=June 19, 1996 | url =http://thecastro.net/milk/whitepage.html | accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref> ===The Peoples Temple=== {{POV-section|date=June 2008}} Milk was a supporter of controversial political figure [[Jim Jones]], who had been appointed Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Commission after the participation of the [[Peoples Temple]] (headed by Jones) was instrumental in the 1975 Mayoral election victory of [[George Moscone]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html ''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple'']. PBS.org.</ref> Milk was not a member of the Temple, but supported effective remedies the Temple had taken addressing various social problems.<ref name="milk_let"/> As well, Jones himself was bisexual<ref>Reiterman, Tim (1982) "Raven: The Untold Story of Reverand Jim Jones and His People" ISBN 0-525-24136-1 page 176</ref> and had supported politicians under attack for LGBT-related issues.<ref>[http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Tapes/Tapes/TapeTranscripts/Q799.html ''Transcript of Conversation Between Jim Jones and Rosalynn Carter pledging support for Carter regarding LGBT-oriented bar issue''], Jonestown Institute, San Diego State University</ref> Like Moscone, Milk received help from Peoples Temple member volunteers in his campaigns.<ref name="kinsolving">Kinsolving, Kathleen and Tom. [http://www.rickross.com/reference/jonestown/jonestown43.html "Madman in Our Midst: Jim Jones and the California Cover Up."] 1998.</ref> After Jones came under fire, Milk wrote Jones a handwritten note stating "my name is cut into stone in support of you - and your people."<ref name="kinsolving"/> Milk spoke at political rallies at the Peoples Temple.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919893-1,00.html ''Another Day of Death''] Time Magazine, December 11, 1978</ref> Following a visit to the Peoples Temple, Milk wrote to Jones stating that he there found a sense of being, making up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight, and that he can never leave.<ref>Sawyer, Mary [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Articles/sawyer.htm ''My Lord, What a Mourning:’ Twenty Years Since Jonestown''], Jonestown Institute at SDSU</ref> After Jones fled to Guyana in August of 1977 following accusations of criminal wrongdoing, Milk attended a rally for the Peoples Temple with [[Art Agnos]].<ref>Reiterman, Tim (1982) "Raven: The Untold Story of Reverand Jim Jones and His People" ISBN 0-525-24136-1 page 298</ref> Amidst pressure in the United States to investigate the Temple, on [[February 19]], [[1978]], Milk wrote a letter of support for the Peoples Temple to President [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref name="milk_let">Milk, Harvey [http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/milk.jpg ''Letter Addressed to President Jimmy Carter, Dated February 19, 1978'']</ref> Therein, Milk wrote that Jones was known "as a man of the highest character."<ref name="milk_let"/> Regarding defecting Temple members pressing for an investigation of the Peoples Temple, Milk wrote "they are attempting to damage Rev. Jones reputation" with "apparent bold-faced lies."<ref name="milk_let"/> However, Milk is cited in Randy Shilts book ''The Mayor Of Castro Street'' as having called Jim Jones dangerous. ===Assassinations=== {{main|Moscone-Milk assassinations}} [[Image:Harvey milk plaza.JPG|center|frame|An inscription at the Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco.]] The morning that Moscone was to announce his replacement for Dan White, both he and Supervisor Milk were assassinated by White, who had entered San Francisco City Hall through an unlocked window to avoid detection of his police revolver. After a loud argument, he shot Moscone at close range, reloaded and went down the hall to kill Milk, delivering a [[coup de grâce]] to each victim. White quickly left the scene and met his wife at nearby [[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption|Saint Mary's Cathedral]]<ref name="A Timeline of San Francisco History - 1978">{{cite web | title=A Timeline of San Francisco History - 1978 | publisher=Zpub | date=April 5, 1995 | url =http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/sfh-3.html | accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref> the principal church of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco]] and within hours he turned himself in at the police station where he was formerly a police officer.<ref name="Harvey Milk: OutSmart"/> Though he had carried a gun, 10 extra rounds, and crawled through a window into City Hall to avoid security's metal detectors, White denied premeditation. Thousands from Milk's District and all over the city attended a spontaneous candlelight memorial march from the Castro towards City Hall plaza. Noted speakers included folk singer [[Joan Baez]]. (The Internet Archive has [http://www.archive.org/details/ssfHarveym1 video of the vigil], accompanied by a message Milk recorded preemptively "to be played only in the event of [his] death by assassination".) Milk had anticipated the possibility of assassination and had recorded several audio tapes to be played in that event. One of the tapes included his now-famous quote, {{cquote|If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every [[closeted|closet door]].<ref name="Hero and Martyr">{{cite web | title=Harvey Milk, Hero and Martyr: (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978) | publisher=KQED | date=2008 | url =http://www.kqed.org/w/hood/castro/resourceguide/harveymilk.html | accessdate=2008-07-06}}</ref>}} ==== Trial ==== Dan White's trial, which began four months after the killings, was one of the most closely watched trials in California at that time. During [[Jury#Selection|jury selection]], defense attorneys had excluded candidates they deemed "remotely pro-gay"<ref name="The Time 100: Heroes and Icons">{{cite web | last =Cloud | first =John | title=The Time 100: Heroes and Icons - Harvey Milk | publisher=[[Time (magazine)]] | date=June 14, 1999 | url =http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/milk01.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> and "filled" it instead with "white conservative Catholics, half of them from White’s district".<ref name="Harvey Milk: OutSmart">{{cite web | last =Sieber | first =Ann Walton | title=Harvey Milk: OutSmart's celebration of the gay icon | publisher=OutSmart | date=May 2000 | url =http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/issue/i05-00/milk.html | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> The prosecution claimed that White's motive was revenge. But White's attorney, Douglas Schmidt, claimed that White was a victim of pressure and had been depressed, a state exacerbated by his consuming a large quantity of [[junk food]] before the murders; this became known as the "[[Twinkie defense]]". Schmidt also told the jury and the press that White carried the ammunition on him out of impulse from his past experience as a police officer. Finally, the jury heard what the prosecution hoped would be its most damaging piece of evidence; Dan White's tape-recorded confession which was taped the day after the murders. What was notable about this confession was that the police didn't seem to ask White any questions about the crime and just let him talk. Instead, White tearfully talked of how Moscone and Milk refused to give him his supervisor's job back. White was convicted of [[voluntary manslaughter]] on the grounds of [[diminished capacity]] and sentenced to seven years and eight months with parole. White's former campaign manager and business partner, Ray Sloan, suggests that instead of [[homophobia]], White was mostly motivated by revenge for perceived political betrayal.<ref name="Harvey Milk: OutSmart">{{cite web | last = Geluardi | first =John | title=Dan White's Motive More About Betrayal Than Homophobia | publisher=SF Weekly | date=January 30, 2008 | url =http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-01-30/news/white-in-milk/1 | accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> ==== White Night Riots ==== {{See|White Night Riots}} On [[21 May]] [[1979]], the eve of what would have been Milk's 49th birthday, demonstrations at San Francisco City Hall erupted into what became known as "White Night", so named for Milk's [[assassin]] [[Dan White]].<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> After the sentence, the local gay community erupted in what came to be known as the [[White Night Riots]].<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> As soon as the sentence was announced, word ran through the [[gay community]] and groups of people began walking quickly to the Civic Center where City Hall was located.<!---This might also be near where the trial was held, if so we should note it---> By 8:00 PM, a sizable crowd had formed. According to the documentary, ''[[The Times of Harvey Milk]]'', the enraged crowd began screaming at police officers, calling for revenge and [[capital punishment|death]]. Riots then began to break out, the mob setting ablaze a number of police vehicles, disrupting traffic, and smashing windows of cars and stores. Buses were disabled by their overhead wires being ripped down, and violence broke out against the outnumbered police officers. Later that night, in what was widely regarded as a retaliatory strike, a [[police riot]] took place in the gay Castro neighborhood half a block from Milk's camera shop and campaign office.<ref name="Harvey's Marks 10">{{cite web | last = Davis | first =Kevin | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=Harvey's Marks 10 Years | publisher=[[Bay Area Reporter]] | date=10 June 2007, page 13 | url =http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?article=650&sec=news | accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> After order was restored at City Hall a number of SFPD cars with dozens of officers headed into the [[Castro District]].<ref name="The Gay Pride 2000">{{cite web | last = Rogers | first =Fred | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=The Gay Pride 2000: Elephant Walk Took Brunt of Police Attack in the Castro | publisher=[[San Francisco Examiner]] | date=2000 | url =http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:K7_77Bvx8fEJ:thecastro.net/milk/rogers.html+The+Gay+Pride+2000:+Elephant+Walk+Took+Brunt+of+Police+Attack+in+the+Castro&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us | accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> Police marched into a bar called the Elephant Walk, smashed fixtures and attacked patrons.<ref name="Harvey's Marks 10"/> A civil grand jury was convened to find out who ordered the attack, but ended inconclusively with a settlement covering personal injury claims and damages.<ref name="Harvey's Marks 10"/><ref name="The Gay Pride 2000"/> More than 160 people were hospitalized because of the rioting. ==== Diminished capacity abolished ==== {{See|Diminished responsibility}} As a result of the White case, diminished capacity was abolished in 1982 by Proposition 8 and the [[California legislature]], and replaced by "diminished actuality", referring not to the capacity to have a specific intent but to whether a defendant actually had a required intent to commit the crime with which he was charged.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/25-29.html FindLaw for Legal Professionals - Case Law, Federal and State Resources, Forms, and Code<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> By this time the "Twinkie defense" had become such a common referent that one participant waved a [[Twinkie]] in the air to make his point.<ref name="Myth of the 'Twinkie defense'">{{cite web | last =Pogash | first =Carol | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=Myth of the 'Twinkie defense': The verdict in the Dan White case wasn't based on his ingestion of junk food | publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date=November 23, 2003 | url =http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/11/23/INGRE343501.DTL&hw=twinkie+defense&sn=001&sc=1000 | accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref> Additionally, California's statutory definitions of premeditation and [[malice (legal term)|malice]] required for murder were eliminated with a return to [[common law]] definitions. ''Twinkie defense'' was described in detail in Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Woodall, 304 F.Supp.2d 1364, 1377 n. 7 (S.D.Ga. 2003). ==Legacy== {{cquote|...you've got to keep electing gay people...to know there is better hope for tomorrow. Not only for gays, but for [[African American|blacks]], [[Asian people|Asians]], [[disability|the disabled]], our senior citizens and us. Without [[hope]], we give up. I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it life is not worth living.<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/>}} Milk "profoundly influenced gay and lesbian politics, and was also a champion of human rights".<ref name="Hero and Martyr"/> He was named in the "Heroes & Icons" section of ''Time'' magazine's [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century]]. Many institutions and organizations are named for Milk, including the [[Lower Haight, San Francisco, California#Geography|Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Centre]], Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, the Harvey Milk Institute, the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library,and the [[Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club]] in San Francisco. Outside of San Francisco are a number of alternative schools named for Milk in the United States, including [[Harvey Milk High School]] in New York City. [[Oakes College]] at the [[University of California, Santa Cruz]] has an on-campus apartment building named Harvey Milk. In February 2007, the city of San Francisco agreed to erect a bust of Harvey Milk in [[San Francisco City Hall|City Hall]] in tribute to his service and to memorialize his life's work. A lengthy process was conducted to choose a design and a gala installation event took place on May 22, 2008 to coincide with Milk's birthday. The bust, unveiled by an honor guard selected from gay youth, depicts a smiling Milk. On the pedestal are three bas reliefs: one of a Gay Pride Parade, another of Milk sitting on the roof of a car during a Gay Freedom Parade, and a third of Milk in his Navy uniform. It contains the inscription: {{quote|Harvey Bernard Milk<br>May 22, 1930<br>November 27, 1978<br>San Francisco Supervisor<br>Jan 9 – November 27, 1978<br>I ask for the Movement to continue because my election gave young people out there hope. You gotta give 'em hope.<br>''Hope Speech 1978''}} In May 2008, the [[California State Assembly]] passed AB 2567, which would declare May 22nd "Harvey Milk Day". The [[California State Senate]] will likely pass the measure soon and the governor is expected to sign it into law.<ref>[http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_2551-2600/ab_2567_bill_20080222_introduced.html]</ref> ==Depictions== In 1979, the new wave/electronic band [[Tuxedomoon]] released a song mocking the results of White's trial entitled "(Special Treatment For The) Family Man". The song is a part of their EP "Scream With A View" originally on Ralph Records. The assassination of Milk directly affected the band as they were based in San Francisco at the time and one of the founding members was openly gay. Milk's political life is depicted in the 1984 [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[documentary film]], ''[[The Times of Harvey Milk]]'', narrated by [[Harvey Fierstein]]. A 20th anniversary digitally remastered DVD of the documentary was released in 2004 and includes interviews with the film's director, Rob Epstein and Milk's openly gay nephew Stuart Milk,[http://thecastro.net/street/memoriespage/nicoletta/milk10.html] among others. In 1995 the [[opera]] ''[[Harvey Milk (opera)|Harvey Milk]]'' by composer [[Stewart Wallace]] and [[librettist]] [[Michael Korie]] was premiered by the [[Houston Grand Opera]], and in 1996 it was recorded on CD under Donald Runnicles with the [[San Francisco Opera]] orchestra and chorus. The 1999 TV film ''[[Execution of Justice]]'' based on the 1983 play (of the same title) written by Emily Mann reenacts the assassination. In 2000 a TV film, ''[[American Justice: It's Not My Fault - Strange Defenses]]'' examined the assassination with archival footage of Milk and White. In 2004, playwright and actor [[Jade Esteban Estrada]] portrays Milk in the solo musical comedy ''ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 2''. Director [[Gus Van Sant]]'s film titled ''[[Milk (film)|Milk]]'' began filming on location in San Francisco in January 2008 and is set for release in November 2008.<ref name="Harvey Milk Movie Begins Pro">{{cite web | last = May | first =Troy | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=Harvey Milk Movie Begins Production: Sean Penn Plays Milk | publisher=On Bay Area | date=February 2008, page 28 (magazine mistakenly has 2007) | url =http://onbayarea.com/ | accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref> It stars [[Sean Penn]] as Milk, [[Josh Brolin]] as White, [[Emile Hirsch]] as [[Cleve Jones]], [[Victor Garber]] as [[George Moscone|Moscone]], [[Lucas Grabeel]] as Danny Nicoletta, and [[James Franco]] as Smith. San Francisco supervisor [[Tom Ammiano]] will portray himself. Director [[Bryan Singer]] had also begun work on a project based on the [[Randy Shilts]] biography ''The Mayor of Castro Street'', but due to the [[2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike]], the film was suspended. In 2008, Irish electronic band [[Empire State Human]] released a song, ''Harvey Milk'', a torch ballad based on his legacy.<ref>[http://www.myspace.com/empirestatehuman Empire State Human]</ref> A movie, "Milk" depicting the last years of Harvey Milk's life will be released on December 5, 2008.<ref>Internet Movie Database. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013753/ Milk (2008)]. Accessed June 30, 2008.</ref> ==Controversy== ===The outing of Sipple=== On [[September 22]] [[1975]] former marine [[Oliver Sipple]] saved the life of President [[Gerald Ford]], for which he was highly praised by law enforcement and the media but only a personal letter from the President instead of a visit to the [[White House]].<ref>http://www.lambda.net/~maximum/sipple.html "Oliver Sipple 1941-1989". Accessed May 23, 2007.</ref><ref name="News And Sexuality: Medi">{{cite web | last =Castañeda | first =Laura | authorlink = | coauthors = Shannon B. Campbell | title=News And Sexuality: Media Portraits of Diversity | publisher=Sage Publications Inc; ISBN 1412909996 | date=2006 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=UrEIJ2MzMtYC&vq=oliver+sipple&dq=%22Oliver+Sipple%22+%22harvey+milk%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-02-19}}</ref> Sipple, who was [[closeted]] in his hometown of [[Detroit]] had met Milk back in [[New York]] and had participated in San Francisco's [[gay pride]] [[pride parade|parades]] and [[gay rights]] demonstrations.<ref name="News And Sexuality: Medi"/><ref name="Conduct Unbecoming: Ga">{{cite web | last =Shilts | first =Randy | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military | publisher=Macmillan; ISBN 0312342640 | date=2005 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=iOAmL6JPCE0C&dq=%22Oliver+Sipple%22+%22harvey+milk%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-02-19}}</ref> The incident came just three weeks after [[Lynette Fromme]]'s [[Lynette_Fromme#Assassination_attempt|assassination attempt]] on Ford so reporters hounded Sipple who at first didn't want his name used, nor his location known.<ref name="News And Sexuality: Medi"/> Sipple had worked on Milk's campaign and the two were friends, Sipple would also be later described as a "prominent figure" in the gay community who had worked in a [[gay bar]] and was active in the [[Imperial Court System]].<ref name="Electronic Media Law">{{cite web | last =Sadler | first =Roger L. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title=Electronic Media Law | publisher=Sage Publications Inc; ISBN 1412905885 | date=2005 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=i4egPXh4OoEC&dq=%22Oliver+Sipple%22+%22harvey+milk%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-02-19}}</ref><ref name="Outing: Shattering the">{{cite web | last =Johansson | first =Warren | authorlink = | coauthors = William A. Percy | title=Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence | publisher=Haworth Press; ISBN 1560244194 | date=1994 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=-lZ903C-dkMC&dq=%22Oliver+Sipple%22+%22harvey+milk%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 | accessdate=2008-02-19}}</ref> Milk, however, reportedly [[outed]] Sipple as a "gay hero" to ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'s'' columnist [[Herb Caen]] in hopes to "break the stereotype of homosexuals" of being "timid, weak and unheroic figures".<ref name="Conduct Unbecoming: Ga"/><ref name="Electronic Media Law"/> [[Gay liberation]] groups petitioned local media to give Sipple his due as a gay hero. Caen published the private side of the former Marine's story, as did a handful of other publications.<ref name="Electronic Media Law"/> Sipple then insisted to reporters that his sexuality was to be kept confidential.<ref name="News And Sexuality: Medi"/> Later, when Sipple hid in a friend's apartment to avoid them, the reporters turned to Milk, arguably the most visible voice for the gay community.<ref name="News And Sexuality: Medi"/> The reporters had already labeled Sipple the "gay ex-Marine" and his [[conservative]] [[Baptist]] mother disparaged and disowned him when she found out about his sexuality.<ref name="Outing: Shattering the"/> Milk's precise role in the outing remain somewhat cloudy as Sipple's active participation in the gay community suggests that his sexuality would have been revealed and reported even if doing so was seen as [[ethics|unethical]].<ref name="Outing: Shattering the"/> == See also == {{wikiquote}} *[[List of assassinated American politicians]] *[[Violence against LGBT people]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Further reading== * [[Randy Shilts|Shilts, Randy]], ''The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk''. New York: St. Martin's Press, [[1982]]. ISBN 0-312-01900-9 * Turner, Wallace, "San Francisco Mayor is Slain; City Supervisor Also Killed; Ex-Official Gives Up to Police." ''The New York Times''. [[November 28]], [[1978]]. A1. * [[Mike Weiss|Weiss, Mike]] ''Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall Killings''. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley [[1984]]. ISBN 0201095955 ==External links== {{Portal|LGBT|Portal LGBT.svg}} *[http://sfpl.org/librarylocations/main/glc/glcarchival.htm#glc35 The James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library] holds the Harvey Milk Archives - Scott Smith Collection. *[http://thecastro.net/milkpage.html http://thecastro.net/milkpage.html] Significant collection of photographs and Milk history. *[http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/milk01.html ''Time'' 100 - Harvey Milk] *[http://www.milkmemorial.org Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial] Organization dedicated to placing a bust of Harvey Milk in San Francisco's City Hall. *[http://www.shapingsf.org/ezine/gay/files/whitengt.htm Account of the White Night riots] *[http://www.milkclub.org/ Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Democratic Club] *[http://www.stewartwallace.com/harvey_milk.htm Harvey Milk Opera] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176705/ ''Execution of Justice''] [[Showtime]] original movie about the events leading up to the [[November 27]] assassinations. *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088275/ ''The Times of Harvey Milk'' - IMDB Entry] *[http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/milk.html ''The Forgotten Populist, Harvey Milk''] an analysis of Milk's politics and political philosophy * [http://www.glbthistory.org The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society] Holds artifacts of Milk, including the suit he was wearing when shot by Dan White *[http://www.sfgov.org/site/recpark_page.asp?id=33637 The Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Centre in SF] *[http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/branches/eurekavalley.htm Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Branch Library] *[http://www.harveymilk.com/ Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy elementary school in SF] *[http://www.hmi.org/ Harvey Milk High School NYC] *[http://thecastro.net/street/ewpage/ewpage.html"Uncle Donald's Castro Street"] A long time Castro resident gives his account of the Riot and Police Assault on Castro street afterward *[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/30/MNUBULUI1.DTL "Picturing Harvey Milk" SF Chronicle January 30, 2008] {{lifetime|1930|1978|Milk, Harvey}} [[Category:San Francisco Board of Supervisors]] [[Category:Gay politicians]] [[Category:Jewish American politicians]] [[Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States]] [[Category:Assassinated activists]] [[Category:Assassinated American politicians]] [[Category:Deaths by firearm in the United States]] [[Category:LGBT politicians from the United States]] [[Category:Ashkenazi Jews]] [[Category:LGBT Jews]] [[Category:People from Long Island]] [[Category:State University of New York at Albany alumni]] [[de:Harvey Milk]] [[es:Harvey Milk]] [[fr:Harvey Milk]] [[it:Harvey Milk]] [[he:הארווי מילק]] [[ja:ハーヴェイ・ミルク]] [[pt:Harvey Milk]]