Stuart Milk (Harvey’s nephew), founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation has said that when Harvey Milk was stationed in San Diego as a naval officer “he fell in love with California;” and as we all know the rest is history.
As you know this week’s announcement that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote to rename their international airport after Harvey Milk has made global headlines.
This month marks the 35th anniversary of the swearing in of Harvey Milk by Mayor George Moscone to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
San Diego is like a second home for Stuart Milk as he has visited us frequently. San Diego and the GLBT community have much to be proud of. Our city’s Human Relations Commission was the first governmental body that endorsed then Assemblymember Mark Leno’s bill to make May 22 a state holiday in recognition of Harvey Milk.
Our city council, not only also gave its support but went on record supporting the national campaign to name a naval vessel after Harvey Milk.
San Diego also has the distinction of launching the first Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in the state, which five years ago drew 900 people. I spoke at the first San Francisco Milk Breakfast which drew about 150 people. Now Palm Springs and other cities have annual breakfasts.
The national letter writing campaign to get the US. Postal Service to issue a U.S stamp in honor of Harvey Milk was launched in San Diego and the Harvey Milk Foundation held its first meeting and retreat in San Diego at the Park Manor Hotel.
Former Mayor Jerry Sanders, Lisa Sanders and businessmen Nick Moede and Robert Gleason were the first citizens to be honored by the Milk Foundation.
The San Diego GLBT Historic Task Force along with the Harvey Milk Foundation, the International Imperial Court System and then-Congressman Bob Filner launched the letter writing campaign to the secretary of the Navy to name a ship after Milk in our city.
And, of course, San Diego became the first city in the nation to name a street after Harvey Milk – led by the San Diego GLBT Historic Task Force. Some San Francisco media blasted their city officials for not being the first city to name a street after Harvey.
As many of you know I have the honor of serving on the board of directors of the Harvey Milk Foundation, being the co-chair of its international advisory board and the national chair of Milk Holiday Celebrations.
Stuart Milk and I have become very close friends and I have seen him move crowds and people in foreign countries as well as cities across America. Stuart and I will be in Atlanta next week for the Creating Change conference.
While the global GLBT community is celebrating and excited by the efforts in San Francisco to rename its airport after Harvey Milk, Stuart Milk told me Tuesday morning that San Diego indeed has played a very large role in keeping Milk’s legacy alive.
I want to at this time thank some people who have helped Stuart and I as well as the Milk Foundation in our quest to keep Harvey’s torch burning: the San Diego City Council, the Human Relations Commission, Dr. Delores Jacobs and The LGBT Center, City Commissioner Robert Gleason, Allan Spyere, A.J. Turner, the Imperial Court de San Diego, Ben Dillingham, Chris Shaw, Nick Moede, Michael and Bill Weiss of Bourbon Street and Lei Lounge, City Council President Todd Gloria, Big Mike, state Assemblymember Toni Atkins, Chris Kehoe, San Diego LGBT Weekly, Gay San Diego, Rage Magazine, Live Magazine, Bruce Abrams, San Diego Pride, and so many others … thank you all for your continuing support in keeping Harvey Milk’s legacy alive.
In 1979 the Imperial Court named its student scholarship after Harvey Milk and that same year the Nicky Awards established the first named Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone civil rights awards.
In the 1980s we dedicated a Balboa Park bench in memory of Harvey Milk and for about five years there was a San Diego Harvey Milk Democratic Club – with such past club presidents as Al Best, who was the first openly gay candidate in San Diego to run for office and also Jim Cua.
About Bob Filner and Todd Gloria
Well, my phone and email has been on overload with questions and comments on the relationship of our Mayor Bob Filner and City Council President Todd Gloria.
We all want them to both succeed and they will naturally not agree on all issues and have both held personal meetings to work things out.
Let’s remember that Bob Filner has spent the last 20 years in Congress, which at times has been like a “war zone” and controlled by the right wing Tea Party nuts.
I agree with Carl DeMaio … let’s give our new mayor a chance to adjust from D.C. to San Diego.
Bob Filner, like all of us, is human and makes some mistakes but he is man enough to acknowledge and apologize for them.
We all know Council President Todd Gloria is a native San Diegan who loves his city and as the Union-Tribune has stated could be a future mayor of San Diego.
We all want Bob and Todd to succeed in their respected offices and our continuing support of both of them is important. Let’s give them the time and space they need to get adjusted and work things out; and they are both doing that as they both genuinely like and respect each other.
Get a grip folks; it’s only been about a month!
