Homo History:
Milk's 1976 Rainbow Invitation

The Randy Shilts collection at the San Francisco main library bulges with fascinating pieces of important gay history, which I've been searching through lately, and I've made copies of some paper artifacts I want to share with as wide an audience as possible. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The top item I looked at was an invitation to a fundraiser for Harvey Milk's 1976 campaign for state assembly. It is bordered with a five-color rainbow design, and it stands out because the rainbow flag had not yet been promoted or adopted as a symbol of liberation and visibility.

Here's Harvey's 1976 campaign invitation:


As we all know, Gilbert Baker, the Betsy Ross of the gay movement, created the rainbow flag design, with six colors, and pushed it as a badge of pride at the 1978 San Francisco gay pride parade and rally.

I spoke with Gilbert today, and like me when I first saw the invitation at the library, he was surprised and very pleased to learn of Harvey's use of the rainbow -- two full years before the official debut of his rainbow design.



The image above is a page from the November 1978 SF Gay Vote newsletter, and what is noteworthy about it is the brief article about President Jimmy Carter speaking out against the Briggs Initiative. Compare that brave act so long ago, from a sitting president, with the the inability and refusal of Barack Obama to deplore California's Prop 8 in 2008 and subsequent gay marriage ballot initiatives.

Someone needs to educate the White House about our history from 1978 and the leadership shown by Jimmy Carter on behalf of gays, facing discrimination through the ballot box.



This October 1978 announcement from Harvey's office at City Hall shows us how he wasn't the least bit afraid to make good use of young students in the political process, and to help defeat the Briggs Initiative. Unlike today, when scaredy-cat gay leaders running gay marriage ballot propositions would rather swallow razor blades than openly engage gay youth and kids in campaigns, Harvey worked to engage the students -- and win!



This anonymous letter was addressed to the editors at the San Francisco Chronicle, and illustrates a fraction of the gay community's anger over the assassination of Harvey. There was nothing in Shilts' papers indicating if the newspaper wrote about the threatening letter, or if law enforcement officials were made aware of it or any investigation launched. The letter's promises went unfulfilled. Dan White committed suicide in October 1985.

I don't want to close this post on such a depressing topic as the death of White, so let's return to the beautiful and colorful 1976 invitation. If anyone knows who designed the rainbow border for Harvey's fundraising pitch, please share that information with me and let's give credit to that person.

The invitation's use of the rainbow is another small example of how Harvey and those around him were so ahead of their time.

100 at Jamaica's Walk for Tolerance

This is most welcome news from Jamaica. The Walk for Tolerance, which was focused on gays and people living with HIV/AIDS, was a success and a large number of people showed up for it, and no violence or threats have been reported. The Radio Jamaica web site gives some details:

A historic march for tolerance was undertaken by gay leaders from the United States and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life in Montego Bay, St. James Wednesday morning.

Close to 100 persons participated in the march, calling for persons to be more tolerant of others usually discriminated against, including AIDS victims and gays.

The historic march was led by Reverend Elder Nancy L. Wilson, the openly lesbian presiding bishop of the International Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches. [...]

Reverend Wilson, who arrived in Montego Bay fresh from her meeting with US President Barack Obama, told RJR News that affected persons are now emerging from their shells.

"This is an amazing event ... it's a day of standing up with people with HIV and AIDS, their families and friends and saying all people deserve justice and health care and dignity and to be free from stigma or hatred just because of who they are or who they love and because of their HIV and AIDS status," she said. [...]

"We were anticipating more persons, however, at the last minute some persons were late while some didn't show up. It's the first time we've had a tolerance walk and we're taking about tolerance for person who have HIV/AIDS, tolerance for persons who are hearing impaired, tolerance for person who are sex workers, tolerance for everybody as often times, we're not tolerant of each other," [said Devon Comack of the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life organization.]

Of course, I hope this is the first of many of public demonstrations for gays and Jamaicans with AIDS, and that in the next few days we all see great vids and pics from the groundbreaking today. Kudos to the organizers and all the participants for making the Walk for Tolerance happen.

America's gay community salutes the bravery of all the Jamaicans and Americans who took giant steps to advance tolerance and understanding.

Pelosi Vid: Hoping for Moratorium
on Don't Ask/Don't Tell

My friend Bill Wilson, a longtime gay advocate and community photographer, last June attended an event with First Lady Michelle Obama and got her to say a few things about repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Yesterday, Bill was at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's appearance at the Commonwealth Club on Market Street, and he managed to get her to say a few comments about gays in the military and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as she was leaving the club.

Bill wanted to know if there will be a repeal of the ban on openly gay soldiers by the end of the current legislative session, and he recorded the exchange:



And here is a rough transcript of the brief exchange:

Speaker Pelosi: Yes. I’m very excited about it. In the meantime I'm hoping we can have a moratorium on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and that pretty soon we'll be able to have it be removed.

Bill Wilson: And also ENDA?

Speaker Pelosi: ENDA? Hopefully it will be soon.

From her lips to President Obama's ears! Thanks, Bill, for being at the Commonwealth Club and asking the Speaker about important gay issues. May she soon exert leadership to making the moratorium on gay discharges a reality, along with a vote on ENDA.

Jamaican Hate Singer Jailed
for Bashing His Girlfriend

From my perch in San Francisco, which is obviously far, far away from Jamaica, I get more than a feeling that a collective wind of karma is smacking a good number of homo-hating musicians.

There is no grand homosexual conspiracy at work that put Buju Banton behind U.S. bars for cocaine charges, or canceled dozens of concerts worldwide, or forced lots of countries to deny or revoke visas for performers.

A handful of volunteer activists in numerous places have applied pressure of varying sorts, and the activism has dovetailed nicely with the growing legal and travel problems for the Jamaican haters, and the latest nugget of bad news for one of them comes via the Jamaican Gleaner:

The troubles facing popular dancehall star Bounty Killer are mounting. Less than one week after the United States Embassy in St Andrew indicated that he was among five Jamaican entertainers to have their visas revoked, the 38-year-old has found himself in more trouble with the law.

Bounty, whose correct name is Rodney Pryce, was arrested at his East Avenue, Kingston 10, house yesterday morning and charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.

It is alleged that on March 25, Pryce's female companion decided to end their three-year relationship. He reportedly refused, and attacked her.

A report was made to the police and, following investigations, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Investigators say that when Pryce was being processed at the Constant Spring Police Station yesterday morning - in keeping with standard police operating procedure - he was allowed to make a telephone call.

According to the police, Pryce used that opportunity to call the complainant and threaten her life in the presence of the police. [...]

As satisfying as it may be to think Bounty Killer would be so dumb to make such a threat with the cops listening, I don't readily buy that last bit. Having monitored the Jamaican press over the years and seeing too many times how the cops are the only source of information, for things such as claims that gays flaunting their sexuality provoked bloody attacks on them, I'm suspicious when Jamaican cops are the sole source.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if Bounty Killer indeed made the threats, in keeping with his outlaw thug image. I'm also not losing any sleep over any troubles he and his colleagues are facing. Collective karma is one tough bitch.

Click here to read some background on Bounty Killer's history of inciting violence against gays from Peter Tatchell and the OutRage! group.

US Coy Why Jamaican
Haters' Visas Revoked

The State Department's revocation of visas for five Jamaican hate singers this week continued to generate media attention on the island over the weekend, and the top item that caught my eye was this claim about U.S. silence regarding the canceled visas in the Jamaica Observer:

Are concerns about homophobia behind the recent travel bans? We do not know and the United States will not say. After all, they owe us no explanation. The granting of a visa is a privilege, not a right. Of course, the current detention of Buju is seen by many in Jamaica to be part of a grand homosexual conspiracy. [...]

The State Department is apparently more than content to let rumors fly about why the performers won't be allowed into America, and I have no problem with Jamaican musicians, political leaders and media outlets speculating on the possible gay angle because it keeps Jamaica's gay-related problems in the public eye, but I also want the U.S. to clearly spell out its reasoning.

Whose interests are served by the State Department unwillingness to provide transparency to the revocations? Whatever the reasons, gay- or criminally-related, the U.S. shouldn't be coy.

And is that grand ol' homo conspiracy something I can become part of? I'd like to join it and help make additional trouble for the Jamaican singers who incite violence against gays.

The Jamaica Observer provides more info about the wide range of travel troubles for many acts:

What is more is that the Europeans are becoming increasingly reluctant to grant visas to Jamaican acts due to what are reported to be homophobic concerns and the Barbadian government (through the intervention of Prime Minister David Thompson) recently cancelled a show featuring Mavado and Kartel in Bridgetown, pointing to an accelerating trend to restrict Jamaican artistes from performing in Caribbean territories. [...]

That trend is part of the universal message to Jamaican performers to curb their hatred and murder music, if they want to travel to other markets and turn a profit. Speaking of making money off hating gay people, the Jamaica Gleaner reports the acts who won't be coming here, are crying all the way to the poorhouse:

Local dancehall stars Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Mavado and Aidonia, as well as selector Ricky Trooper, are set to lose millions of dollars in earnings based on United States decision to revoke their visas.

Last Wednesday, news came that the US had decided to revoke the visas of the five but, so far, there has been no word from the embassy in St Andrew as to why.

And even as Jamaicans speculate about the reason for the about-turn from the US Embassy, the fact is the decision brings devastating financial consequences for the four deejays and one sound-system operator. [...]

To drive the crocodile tears point home, the Jamaica Observer ran this editorial cartoon, featuring Prime Minister Bruce Golding answering the door and finding three of the singers pleading for help:



Let's hope none of the visa troubles adversely impact upon the April 7 Walk for Tolerance, being organized by the Jamaican AIDS Support and JFLAG orgs.

SF Chron FaG Reporter
Busted for Weed, in Weed, CA

(Tom Stienstra would be quite the popular bear at the Lone Star Saloon, if he should decide to hibernate there. Photo credit: Michael Macor.)

Like, hey dude, heard the latest wacky-tobacky story from the Left Coast? The fish-and-game and outdoors reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, the handsome and hunky and hirsute and heterosexual Tom Stienstra, and his wife were recently arrested in an aptly named town:

WEED, SISKIYOU COUNTY -- Chronicle outdoors writer Tom Stienstra and his wife were arrested at their Northern California home on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale, and later released with no charges filed pending an investigation, officials said.

Siskiyou County sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said deputies found "a sophisticated marijuana cultivation operation in the barn" at Stienstra's home in Weed, a small town 30 miles south of Yreka, when they searched it March 25. [...]

They also found medical-marijuana recommendation papers for Stienstra; his wife, Stephani Cruickshank; and Cruickshank's son, who also lives at the home, Gravenkamp said. [...]

Only in California, kiddies, only in California. Such incidents as this should become as obsolete as speakeasies and bathtub gin, once we pass the ballot initiative legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana.

Gays & White House Easter Egg Roll;
Follow Eartha Kitt's Example

(LBJ gets an earful of honesty from Eartha Kitt. Photo credit: White House Museum.)

Florida's veteran lesbian leader Nadine Smith writes at the Bilerico Project that a gay family at the center of a controversial anti-gay law, will be at President and First Lady Obama's Easter Egg Roll on Monday:

Even as they await a ruling on the constitutionality of Florida's law banning gay people from adopting, Frank Gill and his recently adopted sons have reason to celebrate this Easter. Frank and his boys will attend this year's White House Easter Egg Roll. They are one of two families for whom Equality Florida has secured invitations to the annual family event. [...]

As they depart for their Washington adventure, the Third District Court of Appeals still has not issued a decision reversing or upholding the lower court's finding that the ban is "unconstitutional." [...]

I hope Gill and all the other gay families that are privileged to be at the White House Easter fun on the lawn, with nothing but crumbs on the menu for homosexuals, act up and push back against Obama's "the gays can wait" approach.

Challenge the President. Speak up clearly for him to sign a stop-loss order over gays in the military. Ask where is our promised fierce advocate. Do not pass up the chance to deliver a political message.

I recommend all gays at the Easter Egg Roll emulate the great entertainer Eartha Kitt and her historic and mild, by today's standards, zap of the President and the First Lady. Excerpted from Mrs. Johnson's biography "Texas Bluebonnet," written by David Murphy:

As the president was contemplating his future, Lady Bird went on with her official duties and hosted a Women Doers lunch on Jan. 18, 1968 that was to focus on crime. Singer and actress Eartha Kitt was invited upon the recommendation of Sharon Francis and Liz Carpenter since Kitt had testified to Congress in favor of the President's anti-crime legislation.

When President (Lyndon) Johnson entered the room, Kitt confronted him, "Mr. President, what do you do about delinquent parents, those who have to work and are too busy to look after their children?" He told her that Social Security legislation was just passed that provided millions of dollars for daycare centers.

Kitt was not pleased but Johnson told her those were issues for the women to discuss at the lunch.

During the question period, Kitt stood up and confronted Lady Bird, "Boys I know across the nation feel it doesn't pay to be a good guy."

She moved into (sic) closer to the First Lady and said that boys don't want to behave for fear of being sent to Vietnam saying, "You are a mother too though you have had daughters and not sons. I am a mother and I know the feeling of having a baby come out of my guts. I have a baby and then you send him off to war. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot. And Mrs. Johnson, in case you don't understand the lingo, that's marijuana."

Who among the gays at the White House on Monday will pull an Eartha Kitt, in the name of liberty and justice for America's gay community?

Here's another shot of Miss Kitt and Mr. President, in black and white, to inspire a gay or two to follow her courageous example:

US Revokes Visas of
Jamaican Hate Singers

I've not seen news of the revocations except in the Jamaican press, and found nothing at the State Department and our embassy in Kingston's web sites, and hope more information is forthcoming from the U.S. about this development.

I would like to know the official reasons behind this decision, and if the homo-hatred preached by the performers had anything to do with it. All we know at this point is that this one Jamaican news outlet claims there is speculation in Kingston that the revocations were gay-related.

From London, one of the leaders in the global movement to put an end to murder music, Brett Lock of OutRage! send his thoughts on the situation:

Although the details behind the decision to revoke the visas of several murder-musicians isn't yet clear, we welcome this development. The singers have been given every opportunity to reject their murderous incitements to attack gays and lesbians and yet few have been willing to turn their backs on violently homophobic lyrics and instead chose to play a cat-and-mouse game with campaigners and promoters. They themselves put gay-hatred first; career second, so we should have no sympathy for them. Any obstacle between them and the lucrative North American market is to be welcomed. If this harms their careers, good! There should be no market for violent bigotry anyway.

Excerpted from the Carib World News site:

The U.S. visas of five top Jamaican reggae singers have been revoked, reports out of Jamaica indicate.

Jamaica media reports say the U.S. visas of reggae`s Bounty Killer, Mavado, Beenie Man, Adonia and selector Ricky Trooper have been cancelled and airlines have reportedly been advised not to allow any of the entertainers on to flights bound for the United States.

So far representatives of the artists have said that they were unaware of the new development. But the Jamaica Star claimed a document obtained stated: `The Embassy of the United States in Kingston, Jamaica, is in the process of revoking the visas of the following citizens of Jamaica.` The names of the artists are listed.

The apparent document also stated: `The people mentioned here currently hold a US visa that we have not yet been able to physically cancel. Do not allow these passengers to board any flights bound for the United States in reliance on this visa.`

No reason was cited for the cancellation leaving many to speculate whether the cancellation relates to gay rights protest against Jamaican dancehall acts or the Jamaica government`s denial of the extradition request for West Kingston strongman, Christopher `Dudus` Coke. [...]

Oops: HRC's BAR Ad:
'Lobbied in Support of DADT'

This is no April Fool's Day joke. There is a full-page ad on the back of the Bay Area Reporter's arts-and-sex section from the Human Rights Campaign, and there is a major oops in it. Among the activities HRC has undertaken recently?

"275 of our members lobbied on Capitol Hill in support of DADT, ENDA and other key legislation."

What HRC meant to say is that their members campaigned against the current Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that bans openly gay people from serving in the military, and in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Can't HRC do anything right? Is there always some telling little mistake, such as one line in an ad, or a big problem like, say, lack of a road map from HRC showing us the way forward to repeal DADT and enact ENDA?

The problems we gays face in Washington include President Obama not delivering on his promise to be our fierce advocate, and as important, our largest gay political org has shown itself to also lack a strong streak of fierce advocacy.

And if HRC is serious about persuading members of the House and Senate to support the overturn of DADT, instead of taking out an ad for gays in San Francisco, HRC should place an ad in Roll Call or The Hill papers in Washington. Tell Congress and other policymakers why the ban must be lifted.

How the hell does it help end DADT to have HRC place an ad in the BAR? This is probably just one piece of HRC's CYA (cover your ass) strategy, to absolve themselves of responsibility in the looming failure regarding DADT.

How Much Does Catholic League's
William Donohue Earn?

The executive director of the professional anti-gay and pro-Vatican-at-all-costs Christian org known as the Catholic League, Mr. William Donohue, has not taken a vow of either poverty or living on modest means. He's also quite lacking in compassion for anyone other than corrupt church leaders.

The Catholic League, according to its 2008 IRS 990 tax report, has more than $22 million in assets, so it can easily afford hateful ads on the New York Times' op-ed page. This ran in yesterday's paper (click to enlarge):



The 2008 tax filing for the org reveals that Donohue's total compensation package was $372,501 (see page 7). That figure, BTW, is a little bit more than 9% of the Catholic League's $4.1 million budget, and I'm not sure it's out of line with good nonprofit practices for executive compensation.

Such pay shows how profitable it is to pimp for the Vatican and to demonize gay men.