The White House announced today that San Francisco civil rights leader Harvey Milk will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From the White House press release:

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor.  Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.

The Victory Fund which advocates on behalf of LGBT leaders responded to the news:

“We are thrilled President Obama is honoring Harvey Milk with the Medal of Freedom.  He’s an American hero and trailblazer whose election more than 30 years ago triggered a political awakening that inspires us still today.  This recognition sends an important message about how critical political leadership will be in making all Americans equal in the eyes of the law,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.

Stuart Milk echoed Wolfe’s praise, saying, “The President’s action today touches the core of our very human hearts and my uncle would be so proud of this high honor.  His election was, for him, a beginning–a chance to make real change.  That change is happening, but we still have so far to go.  I hope this recognition inspires LGBT Americans everywhere to heed Harvey’s call to run for office, to serve openly, to live proudly with authenticity and to demand the equality that we all deserve.”

Harvey’s nephew Stuart Milk will be at the White House to accept the honor on August 12. Other recipients include openly lesbian tennis legend Bill Jean King and LGBT ally Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots, spurred by the lenient sentencing of Dan White for the murder of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

A look back at that turbulent time…

I’d like to take this time to wish all my readers a happy and prosperous Thanksgiving. I know we have a lot to be thankful for this year, our health, our families and friends, and honestly, employment, but for many these are difficult times. To them I wish the very best in the hope that better times are ahead.

While it is a joyful day, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge the horrible events and terrible loss of life in Mumbai, India over the last several hours. Our thoughts go out to them.

And finally, it was exactly 30 years ago today that Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated by City Supervisor Dan White here in San Francisco. The anniversary of Harvey’s death is especially poignant due to the release of the film Milk yesterday. Please check it out over the long break. You won’t regret it.

Below is a NO on Prop 8 ad I somehow missed during the campaign. The audio is from one of Harvey Milk’s speeches. It’s pretty darn moving, and appropriate on this day of thanks, and much needed hope.

Gus Van Sant’s film Milk, based on the life of Harvey Milk, premiered tonight at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to political office, but was later assassinated along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone in 1977. The movie stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch and was filmed on location here in San Francisco. It is slated for limited release this Thanksgiving and nationwide a few weeks after.

While we are kicking ourselves now for not attending the premiere, but we did get some brief video of Sean Penn as he walked down the red carpet. Apologies in advance for the poor audio.

Here is the amazing trailer for the film.

The film is receiving substantial Oscar buzz, particularly Penn’s performance. Be sure to check it out.