When We Rise Parts II and III (Season 1, Episode 2)
TV Episode | 85 min | Drama

When We Rise

Parts II and III (Season 1, Episode 2)

TV Episode | 85 min | Drama

Part II. 1977. Cleve is working on Harvey Milk's next bid for a city supervisor seat, they hoping it will be fourth time lucky. Roma and her associates are not officially supporting Milk as they see him as just another white male. Cleve is...See morePart II. 1977. Cleve is working on Harvey Milk's next bid for a city supervisor seat, they hoping it will be fourth time lucky. Roma and her associates are not officially supporting Milk as they see him as just another white male. Cleve is now a well known gay activist, he having mobilized the gay population in the city. With Scott having returned from Amsterdam, Cleve, Scott and Marvin look for a place in the city they can call home. Roma, now out to her Catholic parents who support but worry about her, has been able to open the Women's Building, a safe haven for women which is out of bounds to all men. Diane announces that she wants to have a "turkey baster" baby, which she had not previously discussed with Roma or Jean, only one whose opinion about which she really cares. And Ken is living with Richard and his wife Ellen, the arrangement to protect all involved, especially Richard who still has to be in the closet for professional reasons. This arrangement becomes especially difficult for Ken, who is getting more involved in gay public life, initially with the coded named Diversity Committee, which is currently organizing an annual fair. Their collective worlds are turned upside down with Proposition 6 sponsored by California state senator John Briggs, which if it passes would give school boards the right to fire any staff person for advocating or practicing homosexuality. The homosexual community realizes that if the initiatives passes, it is just the first move to quash any homosexual rights and may even lead to such acts as being legally able to take away biological children of homosexual parents. It also directly affects Richard with his job and Diane in her effort to have a baby. This initiative acts as a catalyst to bring Cleve, Ken and Roma's forces together, the first mission to get Milk elected as a symbolic gesture against Prop 6. But they also realize that it will take a mobilized state-wide ground game to defeat the proposition. The gay community embarks on another and unexpected fight starting twenty days after the vote. Part III. 1981. The murders of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, which were ruled manslaughter by the all white/all straight jury, mobilized the gay community even further where they are now making inroads at the political level, Cleve who is working for a state assemblyman. With the birth of Diane's baby, Diane and Roma's relationship takes a turn where Diane feels a need to focus on her new job as a nurse at the hospital, and taking care of Annie. Ken is operating a center for youth at risk, most of those kids who have come from elsewhere, some who are gay, and have no support at all and thus largely end up on the street otherwise. And the new sexual freedom that gay men in particular feel they can now exhibit partly manifests itself in public sex in bathhouses. The gay community begins to be rocked once again when large numbers of gay men, especially in larger urban centers, fall ill with immune damaged systems, more often than not leading to death. The disease is initially coined gay related immune deficiency (GRID). Ken sees it among the gay youth at the center. Cleve and his friends, who frequent the bathhouses, notice brown lesions on some of their skin, which is eventually known as Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) and which is an indication of that immune breakdown. Dr. Marcus Conant, Cleve's friend who is treating many of those afflicted, wants Cleve, as a known voice in the gay community, to act as a liaison between the gay community, and health officials and researchers in finding out the cause and the transmission of the disease, the speculation that it is a communicable disease spread by gay sex. Pat, working for public health, has some preliminary but thus far inconclusive data, which may not be sufficient answers for Ken, Cleve and the gay community. The gay community is turning on itself, the witch hunts for the tell-tale signs of the brown lesions. Diane, on the front line at the hospital, feels that Roma and their friends have abandoned their gay male sisters at this crucial time in their lives. It may take the disease spreading into non-gay male populations for the world truly to take notice and care. Written by Huggo See less

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94 cast members

Name	Known for
Austin P. McKenzie Young Cleve Jones Young Cleve Jones See fewer	Unhinged (I) (2020)
Emily Skeggs Young Roma Guy Young Roma Guy See fewer	Dinner in America (2020)
Jonathan Majors Young Ken Jones Young Ken Jones See fewer	The Harder They Fall (2021)
Fiona Dourif Young Diane Jones Young Diane Jones See fewer	Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)
Rachel Griffiths Diane Jones Diane Jones See fewer	Six Feet Under (2001)
Mary-Louise Parker Roma Guy Roma Guy See fewer	Weeds (2005)
Guy Pearce Cleve Jones Cleve Jones See fewer	Memento (2000)
Michael Kenneth Williams Ken Jones Ken Jones See fewer	The Wire (2002)
Whoopi Goldberg Pat Norman Pat Norman See fewer	Ghost (1990)
Rosie O'Donnell Del Martin Del Martin See fewer	A League of Their Own (1992)
Carrie Preston Sally Gearhart Sally Gearhart See fewer	Claws (2017)
Sam Jaeger Richard Richard See fewer	Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Kevin McHale Bobbi Campbell Bobbi Campbell See fewer	Glee (2009)
Dylan Walsh Dr. Marcus Conant Dr. Marcus Conant See fewer	Congo (1995)
Ivory Aquino Cecilia Chung Cecilia Chung See fewer	Batgirl
Dylan Arnold Young Gilbert Baker Young Gilbert Baker See fewer	Halloween (I) (2018)
Maddie Corman Phyllis Lyon Phyllis Lyon See fewer	Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Rafael de la Fuente Ricardo Canto Ricardo Canto See fewer	Empire (2015)
Adam DiMarco Marvin Feldman Marvin Feldman See fewer	The White Lotus (2021)
Nick Eversman Scott Rempel Scott Rempel See fewer	The Good Lord Bird (2020)
Caitlin Gerard Jean Jean See fewer	American Crime (2015)
Derek Phillips Dan White Dan White See fewer	Friday Night Lights (2006)
Justin Sams Sylvester Sylvester See fewer	When We Rise (2017)
Pernell Walker Gwenn Craig Gwenn Craig See fewer	City on a Hill (2019)
Ese Atawo Women's Building Woman Women's Building Woman See fewer	To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021)
Alika Autran Linda Linda See fewer	The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
Bruce Bealke Officer Officer See fewer	When We Rise (2017)
Sonja Bennett Ellen Ellen See fewer	Letterkenny (2016)
Chris Britton Old White Bar Owner Old White Bar Owner See fewer	Riverdale (2017)
Joshua Brockington Daniel Daniel See fewer	Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Mik Byskov Mike Gorman Mike Gorman See fewer	The Void (I) (2016)
James Challis White Guy White Guy See fewer	Witching Hour (IV)
Kelli Crump Two Tons of Fun #1 Two Tons of Fun #1 See fewer	Being Flynn (2012)
Jason Deline Dr. Paul Volberding Dr. Paul Volberding See fewer	The Night Agent (2023)
Darren Dolynski Bartender Bartender See fewer	Godzilla (2014)
Matt Ellis Bill Kraus Bill Kraus See fewer	Good Boys (2019)
Akuyoe Graham Luna Luna See fewer	American Pie (1999)
Allan Gray White Bar Owner #2 White Bar Owner #2 See fewer	Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Fiona Hogan Roma's Mom Roma's Mom See fewer	I, Robot (2004)
Chelah Horsdal Emily Emily See fewer	The Man in the High Castle (2015)
Britt Irvin Anne Kronenberg Anne Kronenberg See fewer	Hot Rod (2007)
Johnny Kelly Frightened Young Man Frightened Young Man See fewer	When We Rise (2017)
Steve Makaj Roma's Dad Roma's Dad See fewer	Stargate SG-1 (1997)
Misa Malone Two Tons of Fun #2 Two Tons of Fun #2 See fewer	When We Rise (2017)
Daniel Martin Art Agnos Art Agnos See fewer	Falling Skies (2011)
James Pinkman Basher Basher See fewer	American Riviera
Debbie Podowski Dr. Hess Dr. Hess See fewer	Virgin River (2019)
Molly Shaiken Lesbian Lesbian See fewer	Kicks (II) (2016)
Naomi Simpson Lesbian Volunteer Lesbian Volunteer See fewer	Animal Control (2023)
Bronwen Smith Diane Feinstein Diane Feinstein See fewer	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
Gerry South Bathhouse Owner Bathhouse Owner See fewer	Deadpool 2 (2018)
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Matthew Uhlik Basher Kid (as Matthew Uhtik) Basher Kid (as Matthew Uhtik) See fewer	When We Rise (2017)
Danny Wattley Forum President Forum President See fewer	Watchmen (2009)
Christiaan Westerveld A Thin Young Man A Thin Young Man See fewer	DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016)
Mekhi Fester New York Boy New York Boy See fewer	Dragged Across Concrete (2018)
Debra Winger Elena Kagan Elena Kagan See fewer	Terms of Endearment (1983)
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David Hyde Pierce Dr. Jones (voice) (uncredited) Dr. Jones (voice) (uncredited) See fewer	Frasier (1993)
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