By Luke Thomas
May 11, 2010
Political activist, philosopher, socialist, former vice presidential candidate and retired professor, Angela Davis, will be this year’s keynote speaker at the 32nd annual Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club dinner, Thursday May 27.
The historic club will be celebrating the first Harvey Milk Day in California and thirty-five years since the club was co-founded by San Francisco political legend Harvey Milk.
“Angela Davis is a legend in her own right and she’s renowned around the world for her brilliant scholarship, life-long activism and radical politics,” said club co-president David Waggoner. “We are thrilled that she will be joining us for the first time California is recognizing Harvey Milk Day.”
Angela Davis
Program:
Thursday, May 27, Hotel Whitcomb, Grand Ballroom, 1231 Market Street.
6-7 pm Cocktails
7-9:30 Dinner, Awards, and Keynote Speaker Angela Davis
Tickets & Sponsorship Information:
Sponsorship levels are between $250-$2,500
Low-income tickets available for $60
Medium-income tickets available for $100
High-income tickets available for $150+
Send checks to:
Milk Club Dinner
P.O. Box 14368
(make checks out to Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club PAC, FPPC ID 921683)
More event info here.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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May 29, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Arthur, dear, I have been a member of the Milk Club since March of 1981. You can always contact me if you need a low-cost ticket to the Annua Dinner, or want to chat about the current state of progressive politics.
When you and Naptali were fixing my vw bug at your shop The Buggery way back in the 70s and 80s you shared our zeal for social, economic and environmental justice. I still do as does the Milk Club and Angela Davis. cheers!
May 20, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Thanks to David Waggoner and Greg Kamin for their posts above. A comment for David, then for Greg.
* * * *
David, you say:
“As to the Club being an arm of ‘special interests,’…”
Some time ago, the press (including Matier & Ross) reported that members of the Medical Marijuana Caucus of the Milk Club had put marijuana into the food served at the club’s Political Action Committee when it was considering endorsements, without telling anyone ahead of time.
You don’t consider that action an infiltration by a special interest?
* * * *
Greg, you say:
“THIS is what civility and class looks like!”
Could you clarify what you mean by this comment?
May 20, 2010 at 8:00 am
Ouch! Nice smackdown, davidwaggoner!
And lesson to Arthur who always talks about civility… THIS is what civility and class looks like! Not the faux civility of ‘let me pay some lip service to being polite before I tear into you with a snide underhanded attack.’ Whenever I see that post (usually the very first one) that begins with “Thank you for you thoughtful and informative piece… blah blah blah,” it’s a red flag yelling, “SKIP! NEXT!”
…that said, it is a bit on the expensive side, no? I won’t be going because I can’t afford it, and wouldn’t feel comfortable going without paying. But good luck. I’m sure it will be a good event.
May 19, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Thanks for the interest in the Milk Club’s Annual Dinner. @ el greco – No fee. @ h. brown – The Club ensures that all active members can attend regardless of ability to pay. @ Arthur Evans – Thank you for the history lesson. However, I can assure you that I am neither a capitalist, machine operative or infiltrator. As to the Club being an arm of “special interests,” if gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender immigrants, people with disabilities, workers, renters and victims of police misconduct are special interests, then you are correct. Hope to see you all next Thursday!
May 15, 2010 at 10:25 am
I doubt that anyone from the Milk Club will answer your question, El Greco. The club has insulated itself from voices from the larger community.
The club is no longer a vehicle for voters to use in order to pressure politicians. Instead, it’s become a tool for certain cliques of politicians and vested interests to manipulate the voters.
I was a member of the club in the late 70s. It was originally called the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club. It was formed by a group of folks from Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL).
The BAGL people had a sense of gay pride. They were angry at the fact the many politicians of the time choked at the word “gay” and wouldn’t use it. Likewise, some gay groups themselves were embarrassed by the word.
The folks from BAGL insisted that the new political group they were forming proudly use the word “gay.” Today, however, the club is known as The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.
They avoid the word “gay” as much as the politicians did in the 70s. Look at the poster for their annual dinner. You won’t find the word “gay” anywhere on it. The word has been reduced to the letter “G” in “LGBT.”
The club now calls itself after Harvey Milk. To the best of my memory, he rarely, if ever, called himself a “progressive queer activist,” the phrase now commonly used by members to refer to themselves. He was gay and proud, a practical reformer, smart, witty, and congenial.
The club also misrepresents its own history, claiming that Harvey Milk was its founder. As noted above, the club was created by folks from BAGL.
Harvey had no part in the original formative process. After the founders from BAGL created a constitution and statement of purposes for the new group, they held a public meeting for its formal approval.
Anyone who attended that meeting was deemed to be a founding member of the group. That’s the meeting that Harvey attended, and by virtue of attending that meeting, he became one among the other founding members.
Of course, there was a natural affinity between the new group and Harvey. They at once took to each other, and worked hand and hand, to the delight of everyone. But Harvey had no part in the original formative process of the group.
Some years ago, the club was infiltrated by the cannabis capitalists and, most recently, by operatives of the Peskin-Daly machine.
The club is now an arm of these special interests and political cliques. It is no longer an independent voice for the gay community, pressuring politicians and institutions to respond to the gay community’s needs. It has lost its sense of gay pride.
This is all a familiar pattern. Groups that start out well are commonly co-opted by forces in the system and end up as tentacles of the status quo.
Nonetheless, as previously noted, the club does get credit for inviting Angela Davis to speak. Hopefully, the testosterone operatives of the Peskin-Daly machine will learn something from her about women.
I doubt that she would be happy to hear Aaron Peskin proclaim “Payback is a bitch.” Nor would she be happy to hear Chris Daly shout “Fuck you, bitch!”
May 14, 2010 at 9:49 pm
I don’t care whether Ms Davis gets a fee or not, I’m just asking, is she getting a speaker’s fee and, if so, how much? Can someone from the Milk Club answer that?
May 14, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I don’t mind if Angela Davis gets a good fee for her speech. She’s one of the few American philosophers who has put a focus on the issue of violence against women. Most philosophers look the other way. Supporting her work is a good thing.
However, the annual dinners by the various political clubs are money-raising gimmicks for themselves. The politicians, their consultants, operatives, and ideologues all pore money into these events, with an eye toward possible endorsements later. It’s all a big symbiotic racket, like everything else in politics.
I was disappointed by the poster for this event. I didn’t see the word “gay” anywhere. Not to mention “gay pride.”
What has happened to the Milk Clubbers?
May 14, 2010 at 9:59 am
el Greco’s right,
I can’t decide whether to hand over $2,500 or bring a date and give em $5,000. Note that the ‘no one turned away for lack of funds’ category is missing. Hopefully Harvey would protest his own dinner by not attending.
h.
May 13, 2010 at 8:15 am
Anyone think to ask how much her speaker’s fee to the Milk Club is?
May 12, 2010 at 10:05 pm
si se puede!
May 12, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Angela Davis is an important American philosopher. It’s good news for philosophy that her voice will be heard in SF.