Activist Cleve Jones in Berkeley--or, what I'd be attending if I didn't have a work event Thurs night

Thursday night in Berkeley, Cleve Jones will be appearing for a talk, "After MILK: Activism Today".

If only I didn't have a big work even tonight! I was inspired by the movie (which he advised and also was in, vicariously by Emile Hirsch).

Here's more from the event bio:

Jones was born in West Lafayette, Indiana. His career as an activist began in San Francisco during the turbulent 1970s when he was befriended by pioneer gay rights leader Harvey Milk. He worked as a student intern in Milk’s office while studying political science at San Francisco State University. In 1978, Milk was assassinated along with San Francisco’s Mayor George Moscone. Jones went to work in the district office of State Assemblyman Art Agnos.

In 1983, when AIDS was still a new and poorly understood threat, Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Jones conceived the idea of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at a candlelight memorial for Harvey Milk in 1985 and in 1987 created the first quilt panel in honor of his friend Marvin Feldman. The AIDS Memorial Quilt has grown to become the world’s largest community arts project, memorializing the lives of over 85,000 Americans killed by AIDS.

The event will be held at the Multicultural Center at Heller Lounge, from 4:30p - 6:30p (on Thursday, January 29, 2009) and is sponsored by the Gender Equity Resource Center, the Pacific Center for Human Growth and the GSA Network.

Props to Larimie Garcia for the event flier.