Oscar Winning Screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and Milk Movie

Sunday night at the Academy Award show a most moving and powerful acceptance speech was given by thirty-four year old screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay Milk, based on the life of openly gay San Francisco politician, Harvey Milk. On November 27, 1978, Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated at City Hall by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned and wanted his job back.

At the time, California Senator, Dianne Feinstein was President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was in City Hall as the shootings occurred. A short while later, at a press conference originally scheduled by Mayor Moscone to announce White's successor, Feinstein announced the assassinations to a stunned public, stating: "As president of the board of supervisors, it's my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed…and the suspect is Supervisor Dan White.”

Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, I just discovered, has co-produced and written several episodes of my favorite TV program, HBO’s Big Love. Tom Hanks is one of the Executive Producers of Big Love.

Director Gus Van Sant directed Milk., starring Sean Penn., who won the Oscar last night for Best Actor. A couple of Van Sant's other works include Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester, both excellent films. He happens to be openly gay.

Here is a video of Dustin Lance Black’s powerful acceptance speech.

The second and third videos below is an interview with Cleve Jones, AIDS activist, and co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and in 1987 created the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He worked as a student intern in Milk’s office while attending college.

Part One of Cleve Jones Interview



Part Two of Cleve Jones Interview

I want to see this movie. I remember the Milk, Moscone shootings of thirty years ago, I know the HIV-AIDS work of Cleve Jones, and I’ve seen the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and my husband, Don Pendleton and I, watched a candle-light San Francisco Gay Parade in about 1985 from a San Francisco hotel window. Now in 2009, 25 to 30 years later, it is time for tolerance, equality for all, including marriage if so desired, not only in California but everywhere in this country. We need to make up for wasted time—it is a time for change. We should insist on it. As Oscar winner Sean Penn said in his acceptance speech, "We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

~Linda

Marriage Equality Movement, Gay Marriage in CA

I was shocked to see that Proposition 8 passed here in CA, especially after we were inundated with a religious backed, (mainly Mormon, partly Knights of Columbus) commercial of falsehoods and scare tactics. Here locally in Northern CA it must have played every hour or two, and I got where I gritted my teeth each time I heard it.

It so happens that Proposition 8 was not about politics, not about taxpayers money, No. Proposition 8 was about equality, civil rights, and love. Why should anyone care that another chooses to marry–to join in love with another soul–and call the commitment marriage?

We’ve come a long way in our country in regards to civil rights, bigotry, and prejudices, ie., electing a black man by a landslide to our highest office, a man of vision, of humanity, intelligence, and a man with ideals to do good for our country and our place in the world.

Yet, apparently many who cast their vote for Obama here in CA, also cast a vote for Proposition 8. I am left wondering if they actually read the Proposition, or were taken in by the enormous amount of money that was used to advertise falsehoods of the Vote Yes on 8 group, nothing more than a religious agenda to take away rights.

There is now a grassroots movement, and legal moves, to cancel out this Yes vote, and even Governor Arnold... has spoken out to his surprise that it passed. This vote to change the state constitution will be defeated, and it sounds as if the recent legal marriages of gay couples that have take place will be valid.

I just saw the article reporting gay marriages are now taking place in Conn. Good for them.

I suppose it will just take a little more time for gay rights to be in full force, but it will happen. It will happen in much the same way as acceptance of interracial marriage and equality of races. We are a diverse country and those who find it offensive should save their worry and just get used to it. Everyone deserves equal rights, and it makes for a better place.

If you are interested in seeing what you can do to restore Marriage Equality and repeal Proposition 8, check out this link and group: http://www.couragecampaign.org/

Keith Olbermann said it well last night on Countdown:



~Linda