{news} I will be on stage at the Criterion tomorrow

Mon Jan 12 22:06:45 EST 2009

Greens and others,

As most of you probably know there is a current feature movie starring Sean Penn on the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician to have won an election in the US. Harvey was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, served 10 months until his tragic assassination by fellow freshmen supervisor, Dan White.

It is an absolutely superb movie, something that every political activist should see.

Love Makes a Family is having a special screening of the movie tomorrow Tues, Jan 13, at the Criterion in New Haven, 76 Temple Street, at 7:15 pm. The cost to those who say they are there for the LMF screening  is $5.50.

As an extra bonus, there will be a discussion after the movie of political and faith leaders. I have been asked to participate on stage in that discussion.

Come and join me at this event. 

Below is the flyer for the event plus a piece I wrote recently on Harvey Milk.

Best, Allan

Allan Brison
Alderman, Ward 10
New Haven
Green Party

Harvey Milk 

I lived in SF when Harvey was elected to the SF Board of Supervisors (City Council). What a moment that was, and what an inspiring person! A radical who not only obtained elected office but was able to build coalitions with other groups to work for the betterment of all. A real role model for me today. I met with Harvey on at least one occasion. It was in his photo shop on Castro Street. I was campaigning for an anti-nuke proposition, he was running his 3rd and ultimately successful campaign for supervisor. He invited me into the back room where his campaign was being run. He admonished me to get out of the Castro where everybody already agreed on the subject of nuclear power and into some of the more conservative districts of the city. I remember afterward feeling how incredibly gracious it was of him to spend time with me on my little campaign when he had so much work in front of him. I was visiting in Hawaii in Dec 78 when the assassinations occurred. I remember seeing the front page headline, "Mayor of San Francisco Assassinated". That didn't particularly bother me. I had no particular emotional investment in the Mayor, George Moscone, but I did read the article. Down a few paragraphs, almost as an afterthought, it was mentioned that one of the supervisors had also been killed.  I remember the flood of emotion as I read Harvey's name. Not Harvey, please, please, not Harvey. Harvey's election was made possible by the passing of a charter amendment to provide for the district election of supervisors that had occurred, I believe, in Nov '76. Previously Supervisors were all elected at-large which gave monied interests, like the SF Chamber of Commerce, better control over the candidates who were more dependent on large contributions for media exposure to win elections.  But with the City carved up into 11 separate districts, it was much more difficult for big money to control things. Citizen activists were able mobilize followings and get out door-to-door and win. In that first election by district there were 5 freshman supervisors elected out of a total of 11. An amazing statistic given that incumbents win over 95% of elections nationwide.

Among those five were several firsts in the history of SF: -the first unwed mother, Carol Ruth Silver, ever elected,-the first black woman, Ella Hill Hutch, ever elected,-the first Chinese American, Gordon Lau, ever elected, and, of course,-Harvey, the first openly gay elected official not only in SF but in the entire nation. Four milestones out of a total of 11 supervisors is pretty good in one election.

And there was a fifth milestone as well,  also made possible by the district elections of supervisors. A right-wing, blue collar, firefighter, a charming, every-mother's-son, the eventual assassin, Dan White. I was in LA when Dan White was sentenced. What an outrage that he wasn't convicted of Murder One! That he could have committed what was so obviously a premeditated murder of two elected officials and be let off on a charge of manslaughter was absolutely infuriating!  If I had been in SF that night, I'm afraid that my anger would have propelled me out into the streets with the rest of the outraged mob, turning over and burning police cars all night long with a vengeance.

So Dan White went off for 5 years in a minimum security prison, where he and his wife conceived 2 of their 3 children. While Dan was in prison, I met one of his sisters. I was at a meeting where a group of folks involved in an intentional community were doing outreach to gain new perspective members. The subject of politics came up and one of the leaders started talking about how she didn't believe in political involvements because, she said, politics corrupted. She had a brother, she said, a nice guy, who ran for political office once, won, and ended up committing a terrible crime. 

I asked her after if her brother was Dan White. She said, "Yes."
 Dan was released after 5 years in prison. A year and a half later he took his own life. He never expressed remorse for his crime, only for the difficulty that his actions had caused his family. Here is a link to the New York Times article of his suicide: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E2DE1039F931A15753C1A963948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1 I do have to see this movie. The advertisement pictures of Sean Penn sitting on top of a car in the Castro look so much like Harvey.Best, Allan Allan BrisonAlderman, Ward 10New Haven CT
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After seeing the movie I sent out this note to my constituents:
 Personal Note - Movie Tip: MILK For me the highlight of the holidays, besides some wonderful family times, has been seeing the movie, Milk, which I highly recommend. It is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the US, how he won election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, his eleven months of serving on the Board, and his tragic assassination by fellow freshman supervisor, Dan White.  As someone who lived in SF during that time, and who had the privilege of meeting with Harvey on at least one occasion, I feel that the movie does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the times; and that Sean Penn's portrayal of Harvey is superb, most certainly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Milk is playing currently at the Criterion in New Haven.

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 10:15:45 -0600From: Obadiah at lmfct.orgTo: apbrison at hotmail.comSubject: Special screenings of "Milk" and forums with Anne Stanback  

"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to Recruit you!" 

Dear Allan, 

Have you seen the movie everyone's talking about? You won't want to miss these special screenings of "Milk" in your area! Come see the movie about the man who changed the lives of LGBT Americans forever! Or come see it again before it leaves theaters! 

MADISON DETAILS: Monday January 12th, at Madison Art Cinemas (761 Boston Post Road, Madison), show starting at 7:30pm. Click here for directions. General admission tickets are $9.50, while senior (over 62) tickets are $7.50. 

NEW HAVEN DETAILS: Tuesday January 13th, at Criterion Cinemas (86 Temple St, New Haven), show starting at 7:15pm. Click here for directions. Special event tickets are $5.50. Please mention that you are with the Love Makes a Family group. 

To RSVP, please email obadiah at lmfct.org. 

Join LMF supporters to watch the film together, and stay afterward for for a lively discussion with local clergy and political leaders. The event is organized by FaithAction, a Love Makes a Family initiative for people of faith. Please join us! 

Thanks for being a part of our campaign. Hope to see you at the show! 

Sincerely,
Oby BallingerReligious OrganizerLove Makes a Family

P.S. We need to hear from you! Join Anne Stanback, our Executive Director for a Town Hall Forum on the future of Love Makes a Family and our campaign toward equality. Meet with Anne in New Haven, New London, or Norwalk, Hartford, or Storrs. Share your ideas, get the scoop on our 2009 legislative priorities, and help us continue to build a culture of inclusion and fairness for all Connecticut families. For more information, call Matt Blinstrubas at 860-525-7777 x304 or email matt at lmfct.org.    

Love Makes a Family is a statewide non-profit working for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Connecticut. We carry out our mission through community education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy and lobbying. View this message as HTML in your browser. Forward this message. Change your email preferences. 

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