| Line 27: |
Line 27: |
| | | | |
| | ''[[Salon]]'' magazine says, {{quotebox|“no political figures were more gushing in their praise of Jones than Willie Brown and Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s rising tribune of gay freedom."<ref>''[https://www.salon.com/2012/05/01/jim_jones_sinister_grip_on_san_francisco/ Jim Jones' sinister grip on San Francisco:] How the Peoples Temple cult leader ensnared Harvey Milk and other progressive icons, David Talbot, ''[[Slate]]'', May 1, 2012.</ref>}} | | ''[[Salon]]'' magazine says, {{quotebox|“no political figures were more gushing in their praise of Jones than Willie Brown and Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s rising tribune of gay freedom."<ref>''[https://www.salon.com/2012/05/01/jim_jones_sinister_grip_on_san_francisco/ Jim Jones' sinister grip on San Francisco:] How the Peoples Temple cult leader ensnared Harvey Milk and other progressive icons, David Talbot, ''[[Slate]]'', May 1, 2012.</ref>}} |
| | + | |
| | + | [[File:Willie Brown and Jim Jones.jpg|right|300px|thumb|At a September 1976 testimonial dinner honoring Jim Jones, Willie Brown is at the far left and Jones is at the far right.<ref>http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/</ref>]] |
| | + | Willie Brown, Gov. [[Jerry Brown]], [[George Moscone]], Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and S.F. District Attorney Joseph Freitas among others attended a large testimonial dinner in Jim Jones' honor in September 1976.<ref>Layton, Deborah. ''Seductive Poison''. Anchor, 1999. ISBN|978-0-385-48984-3. page 105.</ref><ref>Tim Reiterman (1982) "Raven (book)|Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People" ISBN|978-0-525-24136-2 page 307</ref> Willie Brown served as master of ceremonies and introduced Jones, stating {{quotebox|"Let me present to you what you should see every day when you look in the mirror in the early morning hours ... Let me present to you a combination of [[Martin Luther King|Martin King]], Angela Davis, [[Albert Einstein]] ... [[Chairman Mao]]."<ref>Layton, Deborah 1999. p. 105</ref><ref>Tim Reiterman (1982) "Raven (book)|Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People" ISBN|978-0-525-24136-2 page 308</ref><ref>Kinsolving, Kathleen and Tom. [http://www.culteducation.com/reference/jonestown/jonestown43.html "Madman in Our Midst: Jim Jones and the California Cover Up."] Ross Institute. 1998. {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybRwHQX?url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/jonestown/jonestown43.html |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> At another testimonial dinner, Brown introduced Jones, referring to him as "a young man came upon the scene, became an inspiration for a whole lot of people. He’s done fantastic things."<ref>[http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27585 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 784''] {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybXcfln?url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Tapes/Tapes/TapeTranscripts/Q784.htm |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> Brown stated "San Francisco should have ten more Jim Joneses."<ref>Kilduff, Marshall and Ron Javers. ''Suicide Cult: The Inside Story of the Peoples Temple Sect and the Massacre in Guyana''. Bantam Books, New York, 1978. ISBN|978-0-553-12920-5. page 49.</ref> |
| | + | |
| | + | Willie Brown had visited the People's Temple a dozen times, some by invitation and some on his own.<ref>Nancy Dooley & Tim Reiterman, "Jim Jones: Power Broker", San Francisco Examiner, August 7, 1977</ref><ref>Layton, Deborah. ''Seductive Poison''. Anchor, 1999. ISBN|978-0-385-48984-3. p. 105.</ref> When investigations into the Temple's activities began, Brown said at a rally in support of Jones attended by Harvey Milk and others,<ref>Reiterman, Tim, and John Jacobs. ''Raven (book)|Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People''. Dutton, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-525-24136-2}}. page 327</ref> "[h]e is a rare human being" and "he cares about people...Rev. Jim Jones is that person who can be helpful when all appears to be lost and [[hope]] is just about gone."<ref>Richardson, James, [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ ''Willie Brown A Biography''], University of California Press, 1996, p. 251 {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybaoie8?url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> |
| | + | |
| | + | After Congressman [[Leo Ryan]] announced that he would investigate [[Jonestown]] following the November 1978 elections, Willie Brown was still planning a fund raising dinner for the Temple that was to be held on December 2, 1978.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James |url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q |title=Willie Brown: A Biography |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1997|isbn=978-0-585-24985-8}}</ref> |
| | + | |
| | + | Brown continued to praise Jones after the mass suicide, feeling that attacks on Jones were attacks on the black community. Brown stated he had "no regrets" over his past association the Temple and that he would not dissociate himself from it like other politicians. "They all like to say, 'Forgive me, I was wrong', but that's bulls—t. It doesn't mean a thing now, it just isn't relevant."<ref>Richardson, James, [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ ''Willie Brown A Biography''], University of California Press, 1996, p. 252 {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybaoie8?url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> |
| | | | |
| | ===Jerry Brown=== | | ===Jerry Brown=== |