Latest news with #MilkFoundation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Who was gay rights activist Harvey Milk?
Slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk was a political appointee for the city of San Francisco, where he enacted policy geared toward improving conditions for LGBTQ community members and working mothers. Milk was born in New York to Jewish parents who both served in the Navy during World War I, according to the Milk Foundation. He attended New York State College for Teachers (now State University of New York) where he became well known for a column in the student newspaper addressing diversity within the country's armed forces before enlisting in the Navy in 1951. Milk served for four years, but he ultimately resigned over questions about his sexual orientation, as reported by the foundation. However, he would go on to create legislation that supported LGBTQ openness in different facets of professional and private life during his tenure as a business owner and local official in California. Milk moved to the West Coast in 1972, beginning a career as a camera store owner and operator on Castro Street. It was after two gay men were denied the opportunity to open shop in the area that Milk created the Castro Village Association, which became one of the nation's first organizations of predominantly LGBTQ businesses. In 1975, Milk became the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States after being appointed to the San Francisco Board of Permit Appeals. He then went on to be elected as the San Francisco city-county supervisor in 1978 after three bids; he served with former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who went on to become the city's mayor. In one year, he helped defeat California ballot initiative Proposition 6, which would have banned openly gay individuals from working as public school teachers. He also promoted the conversion of military facilities into affordable housing alongside tax reform and the promotion of LGBTQ rights in speeches. 'We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk about it,' he said during one speech, as transcribed by the foundation. 'And I want you to talk about it. You must come out,' he added. In November 1978, Milk was assassinated by a former city supervisor alongside Mayor George Moscone. Feinstein was present at the time and was the one to find Milk's body. 'I was the one that found Supervisor Milk's body, and I was the one to put a finger in a bullet hole, trying to get a pulse,' she said in 2013. His killer was acquitted of murder charges but sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter. Milk was honored by the U.S. Navy in 2021, when the branch announced it would name one of its oil tankers in his honor. However, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered that his name be removed from the ship, according to reports from USA Today. 'Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos,' chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell previously said in a statement to The Hill when asked about potential renaming. 'Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.' The move comes months after President Trump signed a January executive order that issued guidelines banning gender identity and expanded pronoun usage from military service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- General
- The Hill
Who was gay rights activist Harvey Milk?
Slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk was a political appointee for the city of San Francisco, where he enacted policy geared towards improving conditions for LGBTQ community members and working mothers. Harvey was born in New York to Jewish parents who both served in the Navy during World War I, according to the Milk Foundation. He attended New York State College for Teachers (now State University of New York) where he became well known for a column in the student newspaper addressing diversity within the country's armed forces before enlisting in the Navy in 1951. Milk served for four years, but ultimately resigned over questions about his sexual orientation, as reported by the foundation. However, he would go on to create legislation that supported LGBTQ openness in different facets of professional and private life during his tenure as a business owner and local official in California. Milk moved to the West Coast in 1972, beginning a career as a camera store owner and operator on Castro Street. It was after two gay men were denied the opportunity to open shop in the area that Milk created the Castro Village Association, which became one of the nation's first organizations of predominantly LGBTQ businesses. In 1975, Milk became the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States after being appointed to the Board of Permits. He then went on to be elected as the San Francisco City-County Supervisor in 1978 after three bids, which he on served with former senator Dianne Feinstein, who went on to become the city's mayor. In one year, he helped defeat California ballot initiative Proposition 6, which would have banned openly gay individuals from working as public school teachers. He also promoted the conversion of military facilities into affordable housing alongside tax reform and the promotion of LGBTQ rights in speeches. 'We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk about it,' he said during one speech, as transcribed by the foundation. 'And I want you to talk about it. You must come out,' he added. In November of 1978, Milk was assassinated by a former city supervisor alongside Mayor George Moscone. Feinstein was present at the time and was the one to find Milk's body. 'I was the one that found Supervisor Milk's body, and I was the one to put a finger in a bullet hole, trying to get a pulse,' she said in 2013. His killer was acquitted of murder charges but sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter. Milk was honored by the U.S. Navy in 2021, when the branch announced it would name one of its oil tankers in his honor. However, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered that his name be removed from the ship, according to reports from USA Today. 'Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos,' Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell previously said in a statement to The Hill when asked about potential renaming. 'Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.' The move comes months after President Trump issued a January executive order that issued guidelines banning gender identity and expanded pronoun usage from military service.
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
2025 Indy 500: Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk?
2025 Indy 500: Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk? Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. You may have heard that the Indy 500 winner celebrates with a bottle of milk and want to know why. We're here to help. It's a quirky but perfectly understandable question some people have about the Indianapolis 500: Why does the winner drink milk? Simply, it's tradition. The Indy 500 is all about tradition, and this one is nearly 100 years old. After taking the Indy 500 checkered flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in one of the biggest motorsports races in the world, the winning driver is draped with a giant flowered wreath and handed a bottle of ice-cold milk by the official milk people and the American Dairy Association Indiana. The winner typically takes a couple sips, poses for a few quick photos and then proceeds to dump the rest of the bottle on their head — sometimes pouring milk on others nearby. The whole process makes for some truly spectacular photos, but how and when did this odd tradition start? It's largely thanks to Louis Meyer back in the 1930s. Via Indianapolis Motor Speedway: "Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph in the sports section of his newspaper the following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since." Buttermilk is not an option anymore, as they're limited to whole, 2 percent or skim. However, the American Dairy Association Indiana does have a secret lactose-free option, should a driver request that. For the 2025 Indy 500, the majority of drivers requested whole milk with a handful of drivers wanting 2 percent.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Every 2025 Indy 500 driver's choice of celebratory milk, should they win
Every 2025 Indy 500 driver's choice of celebratory milk, should they win After completing a strenuous, multi-hour workout, pretty much the last thing anyone would want is a large bottle of milk. Unless, of course, you're the Indianapolis 500 winner, and in that case, a bottle of milk is all they want. After taking the checkered flag to win the biggest IndyCar Series race of the season and one of the biggest motorsports races in the world, the victorious driver will usually celebrate a bit on the track and with their team before pulling the car to the Winner's Circle. INDIANAPOLIS 500 HISTORY: Every Indy 500 champion since 2000 Enter the Veteran Milk Man, a representative of the American Dairy Association Indiana who will hand the winner a chilled bottle of their preferred kind of milk. The winner usually takes a few sips before dumping it on their head and maybe splashing some folks nearby. Ahead of each Indy 500, the association polls drivers about their celebratory milk choice, should they win The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The options are simple — whole, 2 percent or fat-free milk — though many drivers hilariously would like a few more options. (There is a secret lactose-free option, should a driver request that.) As we've seen over the years, whole milk continues to dominate with 29 of the 33 drivers selecting it. Four — Hélio Castroneves, Conor Daly, Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi — opted for 2 percent and, surprisingly, zero want skim. INDY 500 STARTING LINEUP: See the 2025 Indy 500 starting grid with Robert Shwartzman on the pole Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk? So, why milk? The answer is simple: It's a nearly 100-year-old tradition. And the many traditions of the Indy 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway help make the 500 the magical event it is — milk and all. Decades ago when the milk tradition began, it started with buttermilk and driver Louis Meyer. As Indianapolis Motor Speedway explains: "Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph in the sports section of his newspaper the following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since." Buttermilk is no longer an option, but after the Indy 500, the designated 'milk people' from the American Dairy Association Indiana will pull one of three bottles — one for each milk option — from a chilled cooler, which one of the milk people is sometimes handcuffed to. And they deliver it to the winning driver for the iconic celebration. The 109th Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 25 (green flag at 12:45 p.m. ET) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
