Stoli Launches Harvey Milk Limited Edition Bottle to Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Harvey Milk

Stoli Vodka announced today the launch of the Stoli Harvey Milk Limited Edition bottle. Designed to celebrate the life and legacy of Harvey Milk, the Stoli Harvey Milk Limited Edition bottle continues Stoli’s long-time history supporting the LGBTQ community and commemorates the 40th anniversary of Milk taking office in 1978 as the first openly gay elected official in California. Each bottle is individually numbered and the bottle’s label was inspired by a mural by Paraguayan artist Oz Montania featuring the famed Milk quote, “Hope will never be silent.” The initiative will help raise funds for the Florida-based Harvey Milk Foundation.

Stoli is unveiling the limited-edition bottle today, May 22, also known as Harvey Milk Day, with a kick-off event at San Francisco’s The Café, where Montania will unveil a new Harvey Milk mural inspired by his original mural at an LGBT community center in Paraguay. The event will feature remarks by Global LGBTQ rights campaigner Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk's nephew and the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, who will speak about the impact his uncle has had on equality and freedom across the globe.

The limited edition bottle is a part of Stoli’s “Raising the Bar” program, the brand platform dedicated to the LGBTQ equality movement. “Raising the Bar” celebrates individuals and organizations central to advancing diversity and originality within the LGBTQ community. This reinforces Stoli’s recently launched “Loud and Clear” global advertising campaign, created to encourage people to find what drives them and celebrate their bold and authentic selves.

The Harvey Milk Foundation inspires individuals, communities and organizations to carry on Harvey’s values in a timeless vision for a better, more inclusive world. Stoli has worked with the Harvey Milk Foundation for years and is donating to the nonprofit to support its award-winning work towards global equality and acceptance. Proudly produced and bottled at the historic Latvijas Balzams, the donations from the Stoli Vodka Harvey Milk Limited Edition Bottle will help support Harvey Milk Foundation’s LGBTQ programming in Eastern Europe and the Baltic nations.

“We are excited to take our partnership with Stoli to a higher level this year as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of my uncle's historic 11 months of public service,” said Stuart Milk, Global LGBT advocate and co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation. “The Stoli Harvey Milk Limited Edition Bottle recognizes our history and commemorates who helped lead us forward towards visibility, a visibility that will be enhanced by this wonderful tribute from a creative and passionate brand."

“Stoli has a long-time history of championing the LGBTQ community and giving back through a variety of philanthropic initiatives,” said Stoli LGBT National Brand Ambassador, Patrik Gallineaux. “We couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with the Harvey Milk Foundation and honor one of the most important activists in the community.”

To learn how you can join Stoli in supporting global equality and acceptance, please visit Milkfoundation.org and HeroesRaisingTheBar.com.

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY, NANCY G. BRINKER JOINS STUART MILK FOR U.S. EMBASSY RECEPTION TO HONOR THE WORK OF THE HARVEY MILK FOUNDATION ON LGBT INCLUSION

The Harvey Milk Foundation, a global organization that promotes Harvey Milk’s legacy through human rights education and global outreach efforts, announced today that Ambassador Nancy Brinker and her son, Eric Brinker, will join Stuart Milk, nephew of the late civil rights leader Harvey Milk and co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation on October 9, 2014 in Budapest, Hungary, for a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy to honor the work of the Harvey Milk Foundation. The reception with community and civil society leaders will include remarks by the Former Ambassador Brinker, Mr. M. André Goodfriend, the Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. of the U.S. Embassy Budapest and Stuart Milk.

"I am thrilled to join Stuart Milk and the Harvey Milk Foundation for this important evening in Budapest," said Ambassador Nancy Brinker. "There is much work to be done to promote awareness about the LGBT community in Hungary and Central Europe, and I am proud to participate in this reception."

The reception will bring local civil society advocates, supporters, and honored guests together at the residence of the Chargé d'Affaires to honor work by the Harvey Milk Foundation that is geared to move the Hungarian and European LGBT inclusive civil society forward.

"We have a dedicated Harvey Milk Foundation team in Budapest who have worked for some years now with great passion to ensure Central Europe and Hungary are aware and informed on the historic progress that has been made in favor of LGBT rights across the globe" said Milk. "I look forward to this important night on October 9th when I can join our friends at the U.S. Embassy as we recognize the importance of the Hungarian LGBT community in European and world affairs and seize a unique opportunity to be joined by my friend and global humanitarian, Ambassador Nancy Brinker. So much of the societal progress for LGBT people has been made by visibility and personal stories, and both Ambassador Brinker and her son, Eric, will share one such story in brief remarks that is sure to move and touch all."

The Harvey Milk Foundation works to promote the celebration of diversity across the globe and has supported LGBT advocates on the ground in Hungary. This work has included Milk serving as the keynote speaker for the annual Pride March in both 2011 and 2013, holding panel discussions, and a LGBT film series. In 2012, Milk brought Hungarian LGBT rights advocates to the U.S. Capital for substantive briefings with Congressional leadership and to participate in a White House LGBT rights forum and East Wing reception. In 2013, with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Milk met with religious and civil society leaders and held discussions following an exclusive viewing of the 2009 Academy Award winning film, MILK.

Stuart Milk and Nancy Brinker will be joined by Eric Brinker, her son who is openly gay.

"My mom has always been my biggest supporter and we are very pleased to be able to share our family's story with members of the LGBT community from Hungary and Central Europe" said Eric Brinker.

I Am Harvey Milk Coming to Colorado This Week

For the 2014 Pride Concert, The Denver Gay Men’s Chorus is proud to perform the Colorado premiere of Andrew Lippa’s acclaimed oratorio, I AM HARVEY MILK. The work will be performed for two nights only - Thursday, June 12, 7:00 PM at the Gates Concert Hall located at the University of Denver, 2344 East Iliff Ave, Denver and Sunday, June 8 at Griffin Concert Hall on the CSU campus, also at 7:00 PM. Tickets are now on sale.


This moving yet joyful work, commission in 2013, celebrates the ironic life of America’s first openly gay politician. The chorus celebrates the life and legacy of Harvey Milk in a work that has been hailed as a beautifully powerful and poignant piece of theater from coast to coast. I AM HARVEY MILK weaves the story of Milk’s life – from boyhood to his rise as the first openly gay man to hold public office in California to his assassination. Part choral work, part theater piece, I Am Harvey Milk is an emotional celebration of an American icon.
Broadway composer Andrew Lippa wrote the words and music. He is well-known for his Broadway works; Big Fish and The Addams Family are just two in his impressive repertoire which also includes serving as musical director for Kristin Chenoweth since 1999. I AM HARVEY MILK was recently performed to high audience and critical acclaim by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and will be seen at LA’s Disney Hall this June. The evening will conclude with the chorus paying tribute to some of the female gay icons who have helped us through the years to “stand tall” - Cher, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Whitney to name a few.

USPS celebrates release of Harvey Milk forever stamp

The United States Postal Service last week released the Harvey Milk forever stamp, unveiling the final design in a dedication ceremony at the White House. 

Several elected officials and LGBT leaders attended the dedication ceremony, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power. San Francisco post offices reported strong sales of the stamp, with long lines forming at the Castro district office.

Harvey Milk stamp to debut in May

The debut of the U.S. Postal Service’s first postage stamp commemorating Harvey Milk is set to debut in May. 

"The fact that we now have the image of one of our greatest GLBT leaders on a beautifully designed United States postage stamp says more than anything else about how far we have come as a country fighting against the hatred that we still face as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,” said San Diego City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez.

San Diego gets Harvey Milk Street!

Exciting! A three-block section of a street in the Hillcrest neighborhood in San Diego has been renamed Harvey Milk Street. The city has also approved a request to install and fly a large rainbow flag nearby.

San Diego could rename street after Harvey Milk

The San Diego City Council is set to decide whether it will rename two blocks of a city street in its Hillcrest neighborhood after civil rights leader Harvey Milk, who was California's first openly gay elected official.

"Not only does the street run into the LBGT center, this is where the pride parade begins, where the community gathers," said San Diego Pride Executive Director Dwayne Crenshaw.

Op-Ed: There are no Gay Jews

by Mark Segal
For me, the aging process has led to a clearer view of equality. After all, it has been the passion of my life for 42 years. Everywhere I travel, I’m in search of how our community is depicted. Unfortunately, I notice we are not always included. That is discrimination by censorship. And unfortunately, many of our national organizations get a failing grade on this subject. They don’t understand the seriousness of this censorship. Even GLAAD doesn’t know the history of the battle to end censorship in mainstream media. They must learn that our collective history is the building blocks for our future, and the justification of why our struggle for equality deserves to become a reality.


About two months ago, my nephew and I visited the new National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. The museum opened a little over a year ago with much fanfare. It was a spectacular debut with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Seinfeld. The museum not only covered the plight of the Jews in coming to the States, it showcased their religious and political views. It also highlights 12 people from the Jewish community who represent who Jews are and their contributions to American society.


It’s a shock and a failure on the part of the museum that we gay Jews do not exist. A total failure, and they should bow their heads in shame. That’s a tough statement, but as I went through the museum and saw how Jews dealt with the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the fight for civil rights and women’s rights, it was obvious that something was missing. LGBT. In fact, I didn’t find those four letters anywhere in the museum.

Here’s the rub. Many of the most prominent pioneers of the LGBT community were Jewish; perhaps the most well known, Harvey Milk, does not even get a mention. In fact, in what might look like a backhanded insult to the LGBT community, there are two gay men in the museum’s Hall of Fame gallery — Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein — who are both closeted thanks to the museum, as neither of their displayed bios mentions it.

Not only is this discrimination by censorship, it reminds me of a time when, in the Jewish tradition, if you discovered something about a member of the family that was shameful, you didn’t talk about it. Does the museum find LGBT shameful? This becomes somewhat personal for me since, in my family, one of my cousins was one of “those individuals.” At the tender age of 16, my cousin Norman was asked to leave his home. As a child on the streets in the 1950s, he was homeless and had a life of drugs and alcohol. And growing up, we children occasionally heard his name and asked about him. We were told we don’t talk about cousin Norman. Imagine growing up, knowing you’re gay, and discovering the real story of cousin Norman. How do you tell your parents? Do you worry about what the rest of the family will think? Does it sound like the 1950s? That is what the NMAJH has done. On behalf of my cousin Norman, shame on you!

Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com.

Send a Letter Supporting the Harvey Milk Stamp

The Victory Fund writes:

"On Harvey Milk Day, May 22, we not only commemorated a leader's birthday, we celebrated his immense impact on the fight for LGBT equality, and re-dedicated ourselves to the things Harvey stood for: honesty about ourselves always; service to others; and an unwavering commitment to speaking truth to power.

Just the fifth openly gay person to win elective office anywhere in the U.S., Harvey understood his community would never gain its legal equality until it also gained real political power. So he dedicated himself to public service, and paid the ultimate price for it.

The Victory Fund is urging our friends to support a growing effort to memorialize his place in history through an official Harvey Milk stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

The Harvey Milk National Stamp Campaign is a joint project of the International Court System, the Harvey Milk Foundation and numerous national LGBT groups, including the Victory Fund.

Use our sample text or write your own letter to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, and we'll make sure the committee receives it right away."

Click here to send your letter of support today!

HRC Partners with The Trevor Project around San Francisco Action Center & Store

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today announced long term partnerships with The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention among LGBT youth.  The well-regarded organization joins the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy and the GLBT Historical Society as organizations with which HRC will partner when the organization moves into the old camera store and campaign headquarters of civil rights advocate Harvey Milk.

In addition to being an HRC Action Center and Store, the location will include work space for The Trevor Project’s crisis and suicide prevention call center for the term of HRC’s lease. The Trevor Project will not offer direct services out of this space.  The Action Center and Store will prominently feature Trevor Project signage in the store’s windows and provide a kiosk for Trevor Project resources including a computer monitor to access the organization’s website.  The partnership will also enhance The Trevor Project’s ability to train local school workshop volunteers in the Bay Area therefore extending Trevor’s programmatic reach. In addition, HRC will make a $10,000 annual donation for each year of the relationship to The Trevor Project.

HRC previously announced that proceeds from selected merchandise will help to support the work of the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy and the GLBT Historical Society.

“We are honored to partner with The Trevor Project in offering this important resource for LGBT youth across the nation from such a historic location,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “We are so proud of the work of The Trevor Project and I am thrilled to strengthen our relationship with this incredible organization.”

 “We are grateful to HRC for their generosity and are excited about this partnership,” said The Trevor Project Executive Director Charles Robbins. “This location, which is being provided to us free of charge, will allow us to invest even more of our precious resources into creating supportive and positive environments for youth.”

Harvey Milk: Stamp of approval

The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee has informed Harvey Milk's family it is considering recommending the slain LGBT rights activist be honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

Harvey Milk's family seeks to trademark his name and likeness

The family of Harvey Milk is seeking to trademark the use of Milk's name and image for certain uses by for-profit organizations, but intends to continue to allow worthy nonprofits to use the gay rights leader's likeness without charge, according to this article.

AA.com/Rainbow Salutes Rainbow Team Founder Rick Cirillo

Today, in celebration of LGBT history and pride  month, American Airlines’ Rainbow Team released an exclusive first-person interview with former American Airlines sales manager and Rainbow Team founder Rick Cirillo. For the first time in public, Cirillo tells of his chance 1973 encounter with the late gay civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk – a once-in-a-lifetime friendship that simply began when Milk asked Cirillo, “Do you want to help?”

The Cirillo interview about his own times with Harvey Milk recites memories of the early days of gay civil rights organizing and their intersection with other early figures and leaders including the late journalist Randy Shilts and then San Francisco politician Diane Feinstein.

In 1994, Cirillo founded American Airlines’ innovative LGBT marketing strategy and launched the Rainbow Team, almost 20 years after first working alongside Harvey Milk in his Castro Street camera shop and serving as a dedicated campaign organizer for the next several years in San Francisco. Rick Cirillo at the age of 62 and following his retirement from American Airlines, works now in Spokane, Washington for People to People Ambassador Programs. He is also an openly gay father and grandfather with his husband of the past 12 years, Curtis Southworth.

“Rick Cirillo has always been a trailblazer,” said George Carrancho, present day manager of the Rainbow Team, and former colleague of Cirillo. “While serving here at American, he dedicated his professional career to building bridges and to taking our first steps as an inclusive and respectful partner for the LGBT community. To the best of our knowledge, just by starting the Rainbow Team, he began the very first dedicated LGBT marketing group at a major American corporation. We all stand on his shoulders today.”

In addition to the Team’s dedicated community website, www.aa.com/rainbow -- Carrancho connects with thousands of LGBT customers, friends and allies through a monthly Rainbow Newsletter to share special events, promotions and travel tips. For this month’s issue of Rainbow News, Rick Cirillo agreed, for the first time, to tell his entire story and to recount his friendship with Harvey Milk that began nearly 40 years ago. Subscribers to the Rainbow News will receive this slice of civil rights history later this week; and all interested in this story may also go directly to http://bit.ly/RickCirillo

Michael Lucas in Advocate.com: They don’t make gay leaders like Harvey Milk anymore

Porn impresario Michael Lucas bemoans the lack of gay leadership in a recent article for Advocate.com.

Is he right or is he wrong?

Who do you see as today's leaders in the gay community?

The legacy of Harvey Milk

The groundbreaking work of Harvey Milk, who was one of the nation's first openly gay elected officials, continues to resonate, according to Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of The Victory Fund.

The life of Milk, the recipient of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, offers key lessons on "perseverance, pride and telling the truth about who we really are," Wolfe wrote recently on The Huffington Post.

Medal of Freedom to be awarded to Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk

On Wednesday, August 12th, President Obama will the honor 16 individuals he named to receive the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. This year’s awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change. Among their many accomplishments in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy, these men and women have changed the world for the better. They have blazed trails and broken down barriers. They have discovered new theories, launched new initiatives, and opened minds to new possibilities.

Among the honorees are Billie Jean King and Harvey Millk.

Billie Jean King was an acclaimed professional tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, and has helped champion gender equality not only in sports, but in all areas of public life. King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, then the most viewed tennis match in history. King became one of the first openly lesbian major sports figures in America when she came out in 1981. Following her professional tennis career, King became the first woman commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team Tennis (WTT) League. The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis Center, where the US Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006.

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.

Will Hollywood homophobia spoil 'Milk'?

Will Milk lose out to Hollywood homophobia? Some people say that's what happened to Brokeback Mountain. Grrr, I'll never forgive the Academy for what they did to Brokeback Mountain. Stay tuned. The Oscars are Feb. 22.

Crying over spilled 'Milk'

Unbelievable!

At least Sean Penn got a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in 'Milk', but Gus Van Sant's masterpiece got no nod for best picture, and Van Sant didn't make the best director list.

Is it just me?

Am I just biased or should this film not have blown away the competition?

I guess now we just wait for the Oscars. Congrats to Penn, who deserves to rack up the statues for his incredible portrayal.

And two thumbs way down to the Globes for not recognizing Van Sant's genius.

Should gay people see 'Twilight'?

Should gay people see 'Twilight'? That's a question that gay fans now have to grapple with, as The Advocate reports that 'Twilight' novelist Stephanie Meyer is donating 10 percent of the proceeds she makes from the movie to the Mormon Church. You know that church--they're the ones who basically underwrote the Yes on 8 campaign in California. And as the GLBT community struggles with their convictions versus their desire to see 'Twilight', another boycott is going on. NoMilkForCinemark.com is encouraging Milk viewers to boycott Cinemark theaters because the company's CEO donated a whopping $9,999 to Yes on 8. No worries, though. Denver audiences can see it at the Mayan.

Denver reviews 'Milk'

Here's just a sampling of what moviegoers had to say about 'Milk' immediately following last night's premiere screening:

Randy
It was very moving. Incredible.

Jeremy
I thought it was amazing.

Jason
It was incredible and very touching.

Doug
Very moving. Very poignant.

Manny
Great. I had heard about him before but didn’t know the history.

Mark
Excellent. It was superb.

Phillip
I was speechless.