Harvey Milk Bust Fundraiser

by Dan Miller for the San Francisco Spectrum

The Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee wants to put Harvey back in City Hall, in the form of a bust or statue or some kind of remembrance of the slain Supervisor, who was the first openly gay elected officeholder in the nation. So the Committee held a festive fundraising event towards that end at the LGBT Community Center with food, drink, and entertainment.

Photographer Daniel Nicoletta, a member of the Committee, has taken photos of Milk in the hundreds, as he worked in Milk’s Castro camera shop from age 19 on. Opening the program, Nicoletta said, “Let us move forward in a spirit lacking in oppressiveness or dire urgency, or worse, obsessive obligation. Let us do this with a sense of perspective and authenticity with the goal of creating a lovely beacon of hope for the future Harvey Milks out there.” He asked that prospective volunteers contact the website at www.milkmemorial.org and reminded people that the Harvey Milk Museum was on display at the GLBT Historical Society through December.

President of the Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez was the one who suggested this memorial to Milk. “Having a memorial to Harvey Milk will surely change the character of City Hall, because you are going to see folks assembling in front of the figure of this man and tell stories not only about who he was and what he represented, but what he represents for people in the future.”

Assemblyman Mark Leno extolled the virtues of Milk, especially his propensity towards forming coalitions with likeminded groups whenever civil rights were at stake. “We could not have gotten where we are today on our own without our coalition partners,” said Leno. He gave as an example his upcoming bill against same-sex marriage discrimination being supported by many organizations such as the Mexican American Legal Education Fund, the National Organization of Women, the NAACP, and Chinese for Affirmative Action.

Former Supervisor Harry Britt and good friend of Milk said, “It was so important to Harvey that every breath we took had to be political. To be queer was to be political.” Regarding the memorial, Britt said, “I don’t know what kind of bust or statue or tower of Babel or whatever we create there—I know we’re limited by the dignity and tradition, but Harvey wouldn’t want us to be too limited by dignity and tradition, because we weren’t part of that. I hope that it will be something of creativity and anger and awakening.”

Anne Kronenberg was in her twenties during Milk’s campaign, calling herself “a motorcycle-riding dyke” who became a political activist. She said, “Harvey would have been so excited that we are working together to get him back into City Hall.”

Supervisor Tom Ammiano commented on the timeliness of the documentary, The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, and how a bust of the man in City Hall would be so important in that context. “Our history will not be forgotten or stolen or revised as long as we have those kinds of testimonials and a sculpture of Harvey,” he said.

The entertainment began with members of the Restoration Sanctuary Choir singing a gospel set and getting the audience clapping in rhythm. Comedian Betsy Salkind gave a politically based standup set. Speaking about women’s reproductive rights, she joked, “I don’t need an abortion, but I feel as an American I should exercise that right before it’s taken away.” She added, “I believe in fetal eviction: fetuses don’t pay for their food or rent, they’re a real drain, so they must go.”

James Patrick Kennedy executed a riveting scene from his one-man show, You Gotta Give Them Hope, impersonating Milk while speaking of the proper methods for effective political activism. He also said, “Let my minister and not some policeman worry about my morality.” Josh Klipp, using his male name for the first time on stage, sang a song he did during June’s winning Pride Idol Contest, “Summer Time” and then sang “You Give Me Fever.”

Arturo Galster portrayed Patsy Cline singing live Cline’s “Crazy” while pulling out photos of “good terrorist GWB; bad terrorists Saddam and Osama; and the useless Ralph Nader.” She then joined in with the Whoa Nellies to do some golden oldies such as “I Dig Rock ’n Roll Music,” “She’s Not There,” and “Hey There, Georgie Girl.” They finished off with the most appropriate song of all, “If You’re Going to San Francisco.”

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