Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!
The Man Who Kept Harvey Milk’s Dream Alive
A new Queer Serial
sister series
Original release: June 4, 2022
Episode 5
“Epicenter”
A secret meeting of city leaders, backlash against Mayor Dianne Feinstein, and the fight to win gay domestic partnerships threaten the newfound liberation of the queer community, all while a spreading disease kills thousands. Supervisor Harry Britt battles bathhouse owners and his own community as they come to understand HIV/AIDS.
“Young people who seemed to be living the easy life—
no responsibilities, let's just go out and play—
who showed true heroism, true love, true wisdom.”
Instagram @queerserial
JUNE 4, 2022
Harry Britt, Ellen Schaeffer, & other activists chain themselves to the Federal Building in order to get arrested at an AIDS Vigil demonstration at UN Plaza.
Episode 5 is out today! 🎧
📸 Photos by Steve Ringman, Rick Gerharter for SF Chronicle.
JUNE 4, 2022
Harry Britt, welcome to "The Traitors List.”
“HARRY BRITT
ASSHOLE
LARRY LITTLEJOHN
HEMORRHOID
PREPARATION H
CLOSE THE BATHS”
JUNE 5, 2022
Dr. Fauci struggles with the AIDS epidemic.
🗂 Windy City Times newspaper, @gerberhart
AUGUST 9, 2021
Wow!! From the gay archives… Dr. Anthony Fauci faces criticism during the AIDS crisis. I stumbled upon these articles in a 1988 issue of Chicago’s LGBTQ paper, the Windy City Times, while working on an upcoming new show for my patreon listeners 💖
PS Get vaccinated!! 💉
🗂 @gerberhart
JUNE 6, 2022
Surrender Dianne! 🧹 As told on the pod, Sister Boom Boom was yet another fabulous queen to run for Supervisor, earning 23,124 votes in 1982 and coming in 8th. The first 5 were elected to the board. He listed his occupation as "nun of the above." Boom Boom also tried to for mayor against Dianne Feinstein, but the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that would prevent candidates from running under "assumed names." 🙄
🗯 Incredible campaign poster.
📸 Sister Boom Boom and fellow Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence perform an exorcism at noon in Union Square during the 1984 Democratic convention in order to purge homophobia from the party.
dump dianne
JUNE 3, 2022
New episode tomorrow.
📺 KQED, 1979.
JUNE 2, 2022
Dump Dianne🖕
🎧 "GIVE EM HELL" episode 5, Randy Alfred's "The Gay Life" gay news radio show @glbt_history
📺 KQED
JUNE 7, 2022
One of Dianne Feinstein’s biggest concerns about appointing Harvey’s campaign manager Anne Kronenberg to Supervisor when he was killed was that Anne might wear leather to a board meeting. She really asked Harry Britt about this.
Out of all 4 people Harvey recommended for his job if he were killed, Anne Kronenberg was the one who wanted it. The community rallied behind her, moved Anne into Harvey’s apartment so she could live in the district for the required period of time, they covered the city in flyers in support of Anne—a capable dyke who wanted the job. Dianne refused.
Check out @nymag’s fantastic piece on Feinstein’s “Institutionalist” legacy. And listen to the new season of Queer Serial to hear the full story of her relationship to the gay community.
names project aids memorial quilt
JUNE 16, 2022
News coverage of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Windy City Times. The hands holding the paper down for me belong to my friend Albert Williams, editor of the paper.
🗂 @gerberhart
JUNE 8, 2022
This week on "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" we're discussing the AIDS epidemic.
Randy Wicker’s life, of course, was also changed by the virus. His partner David had a panel on the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Randy's mother helped make it, though she hid it anytime someone came knocking at her door. Still, helping Randy make this panel for David was a huge step forward for his mother.
Here are some pages from Randy's photo album that we assembled. Check out tons more from the Quilt—and from Randy's huge archive—on my patreon. Thanks for helping us preserve & share queer history!
patreon.com/queerserial ✨
Learn more at queerserial.com/randywicker
JUNE 15, 2022
good supe gone bad 😈
🗞 GAGA Review for the Gay Atheist League of America, October 1981.
JULY 10, 2022
More from the Windy City Times archive because when else would you see old issues of Windy City Times? Here's coverage of the controversial gay journalist Randy Shilts, discussed in the fifth episode of GIVE ‘EM HELL 🔥
🗂 @gerberhart
JULY 5, 2022
"The tragedy of putting all our eggs in the gay marriage basket... I find that stupid. Strategically stupid." —Harry Britt
And perhaps—as we’re seeing now—he may have been right. And yet, he fought for our right to marry. This was for many reasons, including so that AIDS patients could be visited by their partners in the hospital.
Episode 5 tells the story of how he won the fight for domestic partnerships.
🗞 Gay Life, December 2, 1982
🗞 Bay Area Reporter, October 13, 1988.
🗞 Lesbian/Gay Labor Alliance forum flyer at Bolerium Bookstore
willrxf
So true. What the courts gave they can take away. We will have to win our rights that hard way -- mobilization and the ballot.
free bonus episodeS
Preview the series
A new sister series about Supervisor Harvey Milk’s final wishes.
On his audio will, Milk recommended a list of possible successors, including a relatively unknown volunteer in his campaign, Harry Britt.
Over three months in 2009, Roscoe recorded interviews with Harvey Milk’s successor, Supervisor Harry Britt, who turned Harvey Milk’s politics into reality. Will and Harry experienced Harvey’s assassination. They were in the candlelight march that night. And they were at City Hall when angry queers rioted, burning 14 cop cars. Harry Britt refused to apologize.
In a new series, we’ll tell you Milk’s story, and pick up where the movie left off. You’ll hear the story of a shy minister was chosen by Milk to fill his shoes in the event of assassination—and how he kept the movement going forward.
Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, & Harry Britt
Speak at Harvey Milk's 50th Birthday Dinner, 1980
Remember when Jane Fonda went viral in 2020 for a decades-old clip of her advocating for gay rights? Here’s the speech she gave later that night at the Harvey Milk Gay Democratic Club’s Milk birthday dinner on May 21, 1980. I believe the clip on YouTube is mislabeled as 1979, because her speech that night very specifically references the interaction with the reporter—but please correct me if I’m wrong!
This clip from “The Gay Life” hosted by Randy Alfred is courtesy our FABULOUS SPONSOR: THE GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN SAN FRANCISCO 💖 It features the voices of Randy Alfred, Supervisor Harry Britt, Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, and Bill Kraus.
Happy 92nd birthday, Harvey! ✨
Original release date: May 22, 2022
“Harvey Milk's Political Will”
“This is Harvey Milk speaking from my camera store on the evening of Friday, November 18th. This is Tape #2…This is to be played only in the event of my death by assassination.”
This audio is provided courtesy of Daniel Nicoletta, a fabulous photographer who worked on Harvey’s campaigns and took some of the most well known photos of Harvey and Harry. You can read Dan’s history of the tapes and the transcript in a lovely new book here.
Infamous Crimes: White Night Riot Interviews
Producer Devlyn Camp talks to rioters who attended the legendary May 21, 1979
uprising following the verdict in the Dan White trial.
Listen only on Patreon.
Listen to the
preview here!
Sister Series Host
Will Roscoe
Professional Rioter
Jerry the Faerie
Anarchist
Joey Cain
Artist down the street
Rumi Missabu
Sister Mary Media
Cass Brayton
Forgotten Fairy Tales: Will Roscoe Interviews
Sister series host Will Roscoe interviews friends
and co-workers of Supervisor Harry Britt.
Listen only on Patreon.
Gwenn Craig:
Tom Ammiano:
Sharon Johnson:
Randy Alfred:
David Weissman:
Tim Wolfred:
Special thanks to the Hong-Murray Family Trust for their generous support of this project, in honor of the legacy of Stephen O. Murray.
Special thanks to the following
“No Apologies” & “Give ‘em Hell” donors on Indiegogo:
Timothy Dupps
Rafael Mandelman
Donald Hoffman
Tim Wolfred
Pat Gourley
Sharon Johnson
Sam Tepperman-Gelfant
P. Goldblum
Gerry Filby
Liz Ryan Murray
David Weissman
Tab Buckner
Daniel Nicoletta
Michael Epstein
Edward Wright
Angelica Jongco
Toby Johnson
Sparkle Jim Cartwright ✨
Duc Luu
David Bloxsom
Jason McKillican
Paul Di Ciccio
Eric Cervini
“Harry was progressive before the word became vogue. He was a powerful advocate for the gay community who never took no for an answer.”
—Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Listen to excerpts and learn more about Harry Britt on Will Roscoe’s website here, & sign up for periodic updates here!
Send inquiries to Devlyn here or Will here.
Donate to the production here.
Harry Britt and Will Roscoe, October 7, 2010.
“We needed to be a minority that you fear.”
Harry Britt