Because someone had left the batteries in it.
After swiping the the bullhorn from the K-5 school Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy for use in the film Milk, Cleve Jones says he decided to return it to his Palm Springs home — where it’s been the center of an on-going battle over whether Jones will make it available for California’s first Harvey Milk Day celebration — instead of giving it back to the kids because someone at the academy never took out the “potentially corrosive” batteries.
“I was troubled by that,” says Jones. O-kay.
While still not guaranteeing he’ll give up the bullhorn for May 22’s events, Jones “said he might have come to a kind of compromise in an agreement to lend the bullhorn to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Historical Society in the Castro for a coming exhibition,” reports the NYT. “‘The kids can come see it for free,’ he said. ‘And it’s right down the block.'” Behind a glass case. Where it belongs?
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Guttersnipe.76
Really Cleve…You were an inspiration to me when you brought the AIDS quilt to my Catholic college back in 1994 and spoke about rights, death, love, and power. It was radical and inspired my coming out, and it was a combination of person, icon, and symbol that did it. Please don’t deny generations of students, educators, and families their inspiration. You gave it freely to begin with. Keep your promise not only because you gave it but because our community deserves integrity.
TiredOldQueen@Queerty
Really Cleve… you do whatever you see is best with your property. The Harvey Milk Academy, a largely straight elementary school, will do just fine focusing on teaching students and not engaging in petty politics.
I will end up at the Smithsonian some day, and till then, I’d rather it were in the hands of a still-active protege of Harvey instead of the desk drawer of a straight school administrator to whom it doesn’t belong.
Guttersnipe.76
@TiredOldQueen Have you ever visited Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy? Have you ever met the parents who advocate on a school district level for the inclusion of LGBTQ history into elementary coursework? Have you ever educated or worked with former students who in Middle School join Gay-Straight Alliances even when they identify as straight and it ostricizes them from their peers? That is the legacy of Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. I have seen and experienced this hisory and legacy first hand.
We must also not devolve into the politics and tactics of our opposition. A person’s word must be their word. We must hold our promises, integrity, and honor sacred. If Cleve gave it to the Academy, it is theirs.
And who knows…Harvey Milk’s protoge might just be a student at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. And his/her voice might just need the amplification of that bullhorn. Once found, I’m certain the principal will pass it on.
Cassandra
I have seen things ruined beyond repair because batteries were left inside. Cleve has a point. Batteries can and do leak over time. while it may not be as big an issue with items people use frequently or replace with each “new and improved” advertising campaign, it is a real issue with memorabilia.
“A person’s word must be their word.”
If you are given a piece of irreplacable memorabilia, you have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions to protect it. If you fail to meet that responsibility, it is appropriate for the donor to retrieve it.
DEREK WASHINGTON
I worked with Mr. Jones on the National Equality March.
Never meet your heroes.
It leaves a film of disgust in your brain.
Guttersnipe.76
@Cassandra: Batteries are easy to replace. Not keeping your word is much harder. All he had to do was take them out and say something.
hlm
If it was given to Jones it belongs to Jones and he can do with it as he pleases. Property rights ought not disappear merely because someone wishing to steal other people’s property drones on about the greater good. That mantra has been used to excuse every violation of human rights in history.
Cassandra
Guttersnipe.76
First, your nasty insinuation: “Not keeping your word is much harder.”
A loan is not a gift.
From the Bay Area Reporter:http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4649
” . . . Milk began using it during street protests to address the crowd. Following his supervisor win, Milk handed it off to Jones.
“It was right after he was elected or right before he was elected. I don’t remember,” said Jones. “I kept it for years after Harvey was killed. I used it during all the HIV memorials and Milk marches. That bullhorn has marched up and down Market Street, I have no idea how many times.”
About 10 years ago Jones loaned the historical bullhorn to the school, whose principal at the time, Sandra Leigh, was a good friend. There it sat in a first-floor display case and became a valued artifact for the school community.
It rarely left the building, and according to school officials, was used each year to teach the students at the alternative public school about Milk’s legacy and his place in history. The Castro merchant became the first openly gay person elected to public office in a major U.S. city when he won a Board of Supervisors seat in 1977.
In 1978 disgruntled former board colleague Dan White assassinated Milk and then-Mayor George Moscone in City Hall. Years later Leigh, an out lesbian, and other school supporters waged a lengthy campaign to name the Castro school in honor of Milk.
At Leigh’s request, Jones donated the bullhorn, which has the letters H and M scratched into its side, to be part of a collection of other Milk artifacts at the school.
“I gave it on an indefinite loan,” said Jones. “With Sande there was no contract or insurance issues; it was a very obscure item. They put in the display case there and, from time to time, I would borrow it for something.”
Then Jones became deeply involved in bringing Milk’s story to the big screen. And when the movie was filming on location in the city’s gayborhood, he retrieved the bullhorn so it could be used by both Sean Penn, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Milk, and Emile Hirsch, who played a young Jones in the film.
But when the filming was over, Jones opted not to return the bullhorn to the school. Leigh was making plans to retire at the end of the following school year, and with the megaphone gaining cachet due to the movie, he said he felt it was safer to keep it with him.
“Over the years it has become fragile and at some point a crack appeared in the casing,” said Jones. “I knew Sande wasn’t going to be staying forever. I was a little alarmed with the San Francisco Unified School District; you never know if they are going to close a school or not … I got worried about it because there was no formal agreement.”
Second, any institution taking care of any artifact, including memorabilia, is responsible to take proper care of it.
The issue of leaving the batteries in is not about the well-being of the batteries. The acids in a battery are highly corrosive and can eat through plastic very easily, destroy electrical components, and eat away at metals as well. Leaking batteries could easily destroy something the bullhorn beyond repair or conservation.
One more quote from the BAR article:
“Even if a formal agreement is not finalized in time for Milk day this year, Velasco said she is still hopeful Jones will take part in the school’s planned activities to mark the holiday and will bring the bullhorn with him.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear children’s voices through his megaphone?” she asked. ”
Wouldn’t it be terrible if no one’s voice could ever be heard through this megaphone because leaking batteries had silenced it forever?
If a careless accident like leaking batteries, or a theft, or some other act of negligence damaged or destroyed this piece of gay history, Cleve would be vilified for “letting kids play with it” or some such. Be grateful that he is trying to protect it for future generations.
Too many important pieces of human history are gone forever because someone was a little too lax, a little too careless, didn’t plan ahead enough.
Xerxes
The bullhorn belongs with other national treasures in the Smithsonian in Washington DC for MILLIONS to see each year.
JoeyD
@DEREK WASHINGTON: Are you kidding me??? I was a CDAT leader from CT for the March. We organized Cleve coming to Yale to speak to an auditorium full of supporters, and he was awesome, even at the last minute as he was here about 5 days before the March. We begged for him to come at the last minute and he obliged. He came out with the organizers from CT after he was through speaking for some dinner and he was such an awesome person.
I think your expectations may have been way too high, for I thought even after the speech, he was still an awesome and inspirational person and I would be honored to be in his company any day of the year.
Cleve, you do what you feel is right to do with your property. You have ownership of the horn. To respect the legacy of Harvey, you HAVE to take whatever precautions you do in order to ensure it is around to see the day we no longer have to fight for our rights. I feel it is probably in the best interest of the horn to NOT be around young people. They ruin everything that doesn’t belong to them. Trust me, I have 8 younger siblings.
Guttersnipe.76
Let me clear up a few things.
There are conflicting reports as to whether or not the bullhorn was loaned or donated. As such there are different outcomes for each instance. If it was donated, it is about integrity. Plain and simple. If loaned, he does have final say. I think it would be nice of him to give it to the school in San Francisco that bear Harvey’s name. It could do a lot here for the future generations of youth inspired by Harvey’s legacy of civil rights be they gay, straight. transgendered, queer, what-not. I can’t think of a better place for the bullhorn to reside than this school.
Also, both the Bay Area Reporter and CBS7 story both don’t mention corrosive batteries, and both asked Cleve for comment. Those stories were published in March 2010 and April 2010 respectively. He even said (and @cassandra you cut this part out of your quote from the BAR) that the school officials “have been very responsible”. He cited security issues as he reasons for reservation. Both batteries and security can be fixed.
Cassandra
“There are conflicting reports as to whether or not the bullhorn was loaned or donated.”
First off, a donation can be a loan. Second, the owner of the megaphone said he loaned it. Who are you to question his word and his disposition of his property?
“If it was donated, it is about integrity.”
The school, as temporary or permanent custodian of the megaphone had a responsibility to maintain it properly, doing is a matter of integrity. Leaving the batteries in, with the risk of corrosion destroying the megaphone, does not indicate integrity.
“Also, both the Bay Area Reporter and CBS7 story both don’t mention corrosive batteries, and both asked Cleve for comment. Those stories were published in March 2010 and April 2010 respectively.”
And as busy-bodies continue to demand an explanation from Cleve about how he handles his possession, he has provided additional information. It is reasonable that he would hesitate to reveal the carelessness that the school displayed by leaving the batteries in the equipment.
“and @cassandra you cut this part out of your quote from the BAR)
Guttersnipe, you have provided no citation for any of your innuendos and smear job, and while I did not quote the entire BAR article – I provided the link so anyone interested could read the whole thing. Don’t criticize me, when you haven’t even be as upfront as I have been.
“He cited security issues as he reasons for reservation. Both batteries and security can be fixed.”
And there is an effort underway to drop up a legal contract to delineate what is expected from the school in terms of properly maintaining and securing the megaphone. A point, by the way, that is in the material I quoted.
You seem to be trying hard to make Cleve Jones the bad-guy in all this, when it isn’t necessary for anyone to be in that position. If you want it in the school so bad, I suggest that you step away from your keyboard and get out your checkbook and purchase insurance for the thing.
Leanne Waldal
@TiredOldQueen@Queerty:
Who is the “straight school administrator” at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy?
I’m a parent of a child at that school (and I’m queer) and I know that many of the parents and people who work there, including the principal, are L or G or B or T.
You describe it as “a largely straight elementary school” — of course it’s “largely straight” because the majority of the population is straight. It has a larger population of LGBT parents and staff than many schools I toured when looking for a school for my child.
The children at this school are protege’s of Harvey, constantly learning and living civil rights and social justice activism.
DEREK WASHINGTON
@JOEY D: I am glad you had an “awesome” experience.
Yes, my expectations were WAY too high. I expected honesty and for someone to keep their word which Mr. Jones did not after the National Equality March. I am SO not surprised that this issue has come up.
I do, however, have a solution. Find out how much it cost to leave San Francisco and you should have a rough idea of the cost of getting that bullhorn back.
I know we supposedly are all on the same side when it comes to our rights and shouldn’t fight with each other, or so it’s said. But, there’s BS in every walk of life and it’s best for it to get called out. I put my name on everything I say because I try to stick to the truth. If anyone thinks differently than me who was there in the aftermath of the NEM, speak up. If not, this is my last word on the subject of that man.
moya watson
time to get “beyond the bullhorn”
cleve jones came to speak at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy last night for the school’s amazing Civil Rights Assembly. here’s what he said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Mvz4VWeIk
while i regret he didn’t bring the bullhorn with him, his message that essentially everyone has it in them to be a civil rights leader was an inspiration. it’s time to move beyond and consider how we can all build consensus, and rely on each other in community going forward. let’s face it — we have enemies, and these aren’t them.
as for our true heroes: if the bullhorn, as he said, has become the rock star, that rock star is reincarnated in every one of these kids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgkwBNO-ULo
thank you
-m
jerry pritikin
The “BEST” Tribute to Harvey, for his Birthday, and came from the kids, teachers and parents of the Harvey Milk School in San Francisco.It was the YOUTUBE of them singing Happy Birthday to Harvey…It was PURE love… I wished there was a solution…
The bullhorn has become the logo for Harvey’s activism… and it is my foot note in Gay History. I will be sending them a photo to
place in the place of the Missing Bullhorn.