“You Got to Give Them Hope.” Harvey Milk

On his 78th birthday, a bust of Harvey Milk was unveiled at City Hall yesterday.

Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978 along with Mayor George Moscone by former Supervisor Dan White. Milk was the first openly gay male to be elected to office in the United States.

Great thanks should be given to Dan Nicoletta who shepherded the process of getting the memorial for the last six years. Dan had worked at Milk’s Camera Shop. Many of the photos of Harvey that were shown last night were taken by Dan who is now a professional photographer. One of Dan’s favorite photos is Harvey Milk sticking out his tongue playfully to the camera.

Under Dan’s leadership, the Memorial Committee worked to raise the money, get the word out, coordinates with City Hall and the Arts Commission to get “Harvey Back Into City Hall.” (Public Disclaimer: I served as treasurer for the Milk Memorial for two years.)

Here with his partner Tommy Netzband, Larry-Bob Roberts (left) should also be commended for his dedication to the Milk Memorial. The idea of putting a memorial at City Hall started out with two politicians and a potential funder. Both politicans lost interest in the idea as the long process of raising the money and then dealing with the bureaucracy of City Hall added to the obstacles of getting a bust located in City Hall. Roberts kept the faith, attended all of the meetings and in his calm way, kept the process going.

All who knew Milk said that he was dedicated public servant who worked very hard for his constituents. Milk was known for making sure that the sidewalks were clean in his District and that potholes were fixed. Anne Kronenberg, who was Milk’s legislative aide and is now a senior official at the Department of Health, spoke about Harvey Milk at the Memorial.

But those who truly knew Milk also told us about his ability to have fun and to enjoy himself. Patrons to Milk’s Camera Shop remembered a lot of laughter. One of Dan’s favorite photos was Harvey sticking out his tongue at the camera.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Building Commissioner Debra Walker are here with Mirkarimi’s legislative aide Rick Galbreath. Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Ross Mirkarimi, Bevan Dufty and Chris Daly were in attendance. Mayor Gavin Newsom opened up the ceremony. City College Trustee John Rizzo was in attendance.

Police Commissioners Theresa Sparks, Petra DeJesus (who gave generously to the Memorial) and David Campos (who is also running for D-11 Supervisor) was also in attendance.