Record Turnout for Harvey Milk March

by Randy Shaw via Beyond Chron

Mon, Dec 1, 2008 6:56AM

Monday, December 1, 2008 : “You can kill the messenger, but you can’t kill the message,” shouted Tom Ammiano at a November 28 rally to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Harvey Milk’s assassination. “Harvey Milk’s message was hope,” said nephew Stuart Milk, “and its expression was courage.” For thirty years, activists have marched each year to Harvey Milk’s camera store in the Castro – although it’s usually been a brief low-key affair, with a handful of people marching just two blocks.

This year, over 500 people marched all the way from City Hall to 19th and Castro – with a stream of candles down Market Street as far as the eye can see. Harvey’s message of hope could not be more appropriate today – with the election of an African-American President, and a new movement to protest Proposition 8. And with the release of the Milk movie (which I saw at the Castro Theatre after the march), more will learn about the history – and what lessons apply today.

Read More

For more information: http://www.beyondchron.org/index.php?itemi...

Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)

§Is that all?

by ?

Mon, Dec 1, 2008 7:52AM

Only 500 turned out to mark the assassination of Harvey Milk 30 years ago. This writer easily remembers the assasssination and remembers many marches annually when thousands turned out for the Milk-Moscone Memorial marches because Mayor Moscone was also assassinated; in fact, he was the first to be assassinated in tihs political killing by an ex-cop, ex-supervisor Dan White. We always marched not just a couple blocks as the says in the first paragraph, but we marched from the Castro to the Civic Center, taking up all lanes on the street going toward the Civic Center. I recall members of the Moscone family speaking at the Civic Center. With the passage of the anti-gay Prop 8 this year, there should have been hundreds of thousands of people at this memorial. THOUSANDS MARCHED EVERY YEAR INTO THE 1990S. This refusal to come out and participate in protest is why Prop 8 exists.

The article does make the point that Harvey Milk took the bull by the horns and campaigned against Prop 6, the Briggs Initiative of November 1978, as an openly gay person and it was defeated. It would have made it illegal for gay and lesbian teachers to teach in public schools. For more on the Briggs Initiative, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briggs_Initiative

Harvey Milk's key to success was uniting all the non-whites with the gays as he was an excellent organizer. He understood the labor concept that an injury to one is an injury to all. He also strongly believed in being openly gay, something that the ads for No on 8 did not have. 30 years ago, when gay marriage was unthinkable, we defeated the Briggs Initiative. Today, it would probably pass because there is no serious movement. 500 people marching for Havey Milk's memory in San Franicsco in the face of the passage of the anti-gay marriage Prop 8 is shameful.

Add a Comment

§Harvey Milk: the Movie

by comment

Mon, Dec 1, 2008 4:34PM

Thanks for posting above. Your insight is helpful as we move forward to get Prop 8 overturned. Just saw the movie MILK and I found it very interesting that there were almost zero women on the street in the marches of Harvey Milk's era. as we work to overturn Prop 8 the rallies have seen equal numbers of male/females at rallies as nearly as I can see.

Add a Comment

§Low turnout

by Low turnout

Mon, Dec 1, 2008 7:08PM

1. I think people are a bit burnt out because they've been on so many prop 8 related events in the last couple of weeks.
2. I would have gone if I knew it was happening - it wasn't very well publicized I guess.

Add a Comment

Support Independent Media

We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!