Milk, King, Rivera to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

The late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk will be awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama announced July 30.

Obama named 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, which 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.

Out lesbian tennis great Billie Jean King is also among the honorees. It is believed to be the first time that openly gay and lesbian people have received the Medal of Freedom.

Obama will present the awards at a ceremony on August 12.

"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," states the write-up about Milk from the White House. "Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 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 November 1978 by ex-Supervisor Dan White.

The White House statement noted that Milk "is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights."

Deeply moved

Longtime Milk friend Dan Nicoletta praised the announcement.

"I am deeply moved by this gesture from President Obama and the White House," Nicoletta told the Bay Area Reporter . "The reverberations of Harvey's legacy will continue to resonate resoundly, and formal acknowledgments of his work such as this one play an important part in fostering the correct notion that LGBT civil rights is an idea whose time has come."

State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who is currently trying to get a bill passed that would recognize Milk in California, said Obama's announcement was "very exciting."

"It's worthy of rejoicing," Leno told the B.A.R. "I applaud the president for taking this step."

Leno also said he hoped the announcement would bolster his bill's chances with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last year vetoed a similar bill and said Milk's achievements would be better recognized locally.

"I'm hopeful this will better inform Governor Schwarzenegger of Milk's stature in the world so he will appropriately sign our Harvey Milk Day bill into law this year," Leno said.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), who also knew Milk, called the news "excellent."

"Especially in light of our governor vetoing the Harvey Milk bill last year," Ammiano sai
Tennis great Billie Jean King will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"Just tremendous"

Ammiano said the Medal of Freedom for Milk is "just tremendous," but also alluded to criticism Obama has received from the LGBT community for not moving swiftly to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and the military's anti-gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

"I know if Harvey were there, he'd tell him to hurry up and repeal those two," Ammiano said.

Wayne Friday, another friend of Milk's and the B.A.R.'s former political editor, also praised the news.

"I'm thrilled for them," Friday said of the honorees, "especially Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King. That they are put in the company with Desmond Tutu - it's a wonderful thing."

Anglican Archbishop Tutu, a leading anti-apartheid figure in South Africa, also will receive the Medal of Freedom.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) praised all the recipients and made special mention of Milk.

"It brings great pride to San Franciscans that Harvey Milk will receive this award posthumously," Pelosi said in a statement. "Harvey lived his entire life to create opportunity for others. We continue the work he begun, the work that was so tragically cut short, by ensuring equal rights for all members of the LGBT community."

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo), whose district includes a portion of San Francisco, issued a statement commending Milk's posthumous award.

"I salute President Obama for bestowing our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, a civil rights pioneer who dedicated - and sacrificed - his life so that others might live in a world free of discrimination," Speier said.

Speier added that it is her hope that along with honoring Milk, "we also honor his work by making the United States of America a land of true equality and freedom."

"Harvey Milk will receive his real and rightful honor when our nation sheds that last vestiges of our intolerant past and recognize that all individuals are endowed with the same freedom to marry whom they wish, to seek employment judged on their qualifications and not their orientation, and to live equally with their neighbors in the pursuit of happiness and community," she added.

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors said that Milk "risked everything to change the course of history and to secure many of the civil rights and protections we enjoy today."

"President Obama understands that Harvey Milk's legacy reaches far beyond San Francisco, and that his story is an inspiration to everyone who believes in equality and fairness," Kors added.

King and other honorees

King, a championship tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, helped raise gender equality issues 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," the White House statement said.

She became the first woman commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team Tennis League. The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis Center, where the U.S. Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the naming of Milk and King as Medal of Freedom recipients was "historic and unprecedented"

"The acknowledgment of Billie Jean King recognizes this lesbian tennis legend champion and advocate of gender equity for her enormous contributions to sports and women's rights," Kendell said.

Other honorees

In addition to Milk, King, and Tutu, others who will receive the Medal of Freedom include: