We caught Milk at the Museum of Modern Art last week. The film is a stirring, beautifully-acted and executed ode to the first gay man elected to public office in the United States. The 2008 Oscar contender overcomes the biopic's many trappings, including familiarity with the material (especially if you, like us, saw The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, the masterful documentary.)
After the screening, Gus Van Sandt took to the stage for a memorable Q&A, a session which plays into a news story we heard today...
There were two unforgettably passionate audience members who stood up to thank Van Sandt for making the film: the first was a 25-year-old who fought back tears to tell the crowd of hundreds how he has been harassed for his homosexuality, including on the way to the screening itself. Everyone was crying by the time he was finished-- we'd recovered through the closing credits, but this was the first person called on during the Q&A... we couldn't hold back any longer.
The second was a higher-up in the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which used to run Harvey Milk High School in the East Village of New York City. Now, they serve an advisory role and continue to operate out of the school's building. This man, who I believe introduced himself as President of the Institute, wanted to thank Van Sandt and, on behalf of the half-dozen students of HMHS that were attending the screening, acknowledge the film's importance in these rough times. We were thrilled to hear the school was doing well and that the kids were not giving up hope.
And then we hear that, thanks to New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. (D-ouchebag), the school is in jeopardy:
State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) filed suit in State Supreme Court charging that city support of the school was a waste of tax dollars. He contends that the school discriminates against heterosexual students, especially blacks and Hispanics in underperforming schools. Reverend Díaz was decisively elected to the New York City Council in 2001, representing the 18th District in the Bronx.... During his swearing-in ceremony, Reverend Díaz conducted the first Pentecostal religious service ever held inside City Hall. [Topix]
The civil rights struggle continues...
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