White Night Riots
Encyclopedia
The White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of the lenient sentencing of Dan White
, for the assassinations
of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone
and San Francisco Supervisor
Harvey Milk
. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979 (the night before what would have been Milk's 49th birthday) in San Francisco. Earlier that day, White had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter
, the lightest possible conviction for his actions.
The gay community of San Francisco had a longstanding conflict with the San Francisco Police Department
. White's status as a former police officer intensified the community's anger at the SFPD. Initial demonstrations took place as a peaceful march through the Castro district of San Francisco. After the crowd arrived at the San Francisco City Hall
, violence began. The events caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property damage to City Hall and the surrounding area, as well as injuries to police officers and rioters.
Several hours after the riot had been broken up, police made a retaliatory raid on a gay bar
in San Francisco's Castro District. Many patrons were beaten by police in riot gear. Two dozen arrests were made during the course of the raid, and several people later sued the SFPD.
In the following days, gay leaders refused to apologize for the events of that night. This led to increased political power in the gay community, which culminated in the election of Mayor Dianne Feinstein
to a full term, the following November. In response to a campaign promise, Feinstein appointed a pro-gay Chief of Police
, which increased recruitment of gays in the police force and eased tensions.
in the 18th and 19th centuries were largely male prospectors and miners. Events such as the California Gold Rush
created a broadly male society in that region. Romantic friendship
s were common, and often tolerated. As San Francisco was settled the ratio of men to women remained disproportionately high, resulting in the growth of a culture that was more open-minded towards homosexuality. The city's notorious brothel district – named the Barbary Coast – earned the city a reputation as a lawless and amoral society leading to San Francisco becoming known as "Sodom by the Sea."
The end of Prohibition
prompted the opening of several gay bar
s along North Beach. The most notable of these were the Black Cat
where female impersonation shows became the main draw, and a lesbian bar known as Mona's.
During World War II
, San Francisco became a major debarkation point for servicemen stationed in the Pacific Theater
. The U.S. military, which was concerned about male homosexuality, had a policy of dismissing servicemen caught in known gay establishments with blue discharge
s. As many of these men faced ostracism from their communities and families, they chose to remain in the city. The number of men that remained was a significant factor in the creation of a homosexual community in San Francisco.
started the Mattachine Society
, from his living room in Los Angeles. A few years later, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin started the Daughters of Bilitis
with six other women in San Francisco, initially to have a place to socialize without fear of harassment or arrest. Within a few years, both organizations learned of each other and grew to have similar goals: helping assimilate homosexuals into general society, working for legal reform to repeal sodomy laws, and assisting those who were arrested. Both groups were headquartered in San Francisco by 1957.
Police continued to arrest homosexuals in large numbers, routinely bringing paddy wagons to gay bars and arresting their patrons. Charges were usually dismissed but those arrested often lost their anonymity when newspapers printed their names, addresses and places of employment. Officers also notified the employer and family of the accused, causing serious damage to their reputations.
In 1964, a New Year's Eve
benefit event was held for the Council on Religion and the Homosexual
. Police stood outside with large floodlights, and in an effort to intimidate took photographs of anyone entering the building. Later, several officers demanded that they be allowed inside. Three lawyers explained to them that under California law, the event was a private party and they could not enter unless they bought tickets. The lawyers were then arrested. Several ministers who were in attendance held a press conference the next morning, likening the SFPD to the Gestapo. Even the Catholic archbishop
strongly condemned the actions of the police. In an attempt to reduce such harassment two officers were tasked with improving the police department's relationship with the gay community.
The Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis promoted non-confrontational education for homosexuals and heterosexuals, hoping to prove that homosexuals were respectable and normal. Living beyond the mostly white, middle class scope of these groups was an active community of cross-dressers, hustlers, and "street queens" who worked primarily in the Tenderloin district of the city. After being denied service at Gene Compton's Cafeteria, a few activists picketed the restaurant in 1966. A few days later, early in the morning, the police arrived to arrest patrons in drag. A riot ensued
when a drag queen threw the contents of a cup of coffee in the face of a police officer in response to the officer's grabbing of her arm. The cafe's plate glass windows were shattered in the melée, and then again a few days later after they had been replaced. Although the Stonewall riots
three years later would have a more significant impact, the Compton's cafeteria riots were among the first in American history where homosexuals and the newly forming transgender community fought against the authorities.A smaller-scale riot broke out in 1959 in Los Angeles, when the drag queens and street hustlers
who hung out at Cooper's Donuts and who were frequently harassed by the LAPD
fought back after police arrested three people, including John Rechy
. Patrons began pelting the police with donuts and coffee cups. The LAPD called for back-up and arrested a number of rioters. Rechy and the other two original detainees were able to escape (Faderman and Timmons, pp. 1–2).
resettled on Castro Street in 1972, and opened Castro Camera
the following year. Dissatisfied with the level of bureaucratic apathy and indifference toward the gay community, Milk decided to run for city supervisor. Through his multiple campaigns he became the political voice for the gay community, promoting himself as the "Mayor of Castro Street." By 1977, 25 percent of the population of San Francisco was reported to be gay.
On Labor Day
of 1974, tensions between the gay community and the SFPD came to a head when a man was beaten and arrested while walking down Castro Street. Police reinforcements suddenly appeared on the street, their badge numbers hidden, and beat dozens of gay men. Fourteen were arrested and charged with obstructing a sidewalk. Harvey Milk dubbed them the "Castro 14", and a $1.375 million lawsuit was filed against the police.
In 1975, after George Moscone
had been elected Mayor, he appointed Charles Gain
as his Chief of Police. Gain, whose conciliatory position towards African Americans had branded him as one of the most liberal law enforcement officers in the country, soon earned the ire of the police force. Gain implemented policies that proved unpopular with his staff, such as painting police cars powder blue
, and barring officers from drinking on the job. His lenient policies towards gays also angered the police force. When asked what he would do if a gay police officer came out
, Gain replied "I certainly think that a gay policeman could be up front about it under me. If I had a gay policeman who came out, I would support him one hundred percent." This statement sent shockwaves through the police department, and made national headlines. Made during the first week of Gain's tenure, the remark also made Mayor Moscone extremely unpopular with the police. The two were so intensely disliked by the police that in 1977 rumors circulated about a plan by right-wing police officers to assassinate Gain, and a year later similar plans formed targeting Mayor Moscone. Upon being informed of this threat, Moscone hired a bodyguard.
Dissatisfied with city politics, and in financial difficulty due to his failing restaurant business and low annual salary of $9,600, former police officer and Supervisor Dan White resigned from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
on November 10, 1978. However, after a meeting with the Police Officers' association and the Board of Realtors, White announced that he wanted his seat back. Liberal Supervisors saw this as an opportunity to end the 6-5 split on the Board that blocked progressive initiatives they wanted to introduce. After intense lobbying by Supervisors Milk and Silver, as well as State Assemblyman
Willie Brown
, Moscone announced on November 26, 1978 that he would not be appointing Dan White to the vacant seat.
The next morning White went to City Hall armed with his police .38 Smith & Wesson
revolver and ten extra cartridges in his coat pocket. To avoid the metal detector
he entered the building through a basement window, and proceeded to the office of Mayor George Moscone
. Following a brief argument, White shot the Mayor in the shoulder and chest, and then twice in the head. White then walked to his former office, reloading his gun, and asked Milk to join him. Supervisor Dianne Feinstein heard gunshots and called the police, who found Milk on the floor, shot five times.
of Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Milk. The prosecutor asked for a finding of first-degree murder with "special circumstances", which would have permitted the death penalty under the terms of a recently adopted capital punishment law in California, Proposition 7. The "special circumstances" in this case were that Mayor Moscone had been killed in order to block the appointment of someone to fill the City Supervisor seat from which Dan White had resigned, and also that multiple people were killed.
White's sentence was reduced due in part to the so-called Twinkie defense
, a verdict that provoked outrage in the community. The "Twinkie" defense was presented by a psychiatrist to the jury, stating that White had a diminished capacity
due to depression. The copious amounts of junk food White consumed are cited as a symptom of his mental state. It has also been stated that the refined sugars present in White's diet preceding the killings may have fueled the depression. The composition of the jury was also considered a factor. It was composed of persons whom were predominantly Roman Catholic, working-class, heterosexual, and white--essentially the same demographic in the city who felt sympathy for White. The jury heard a tape recording of White's confession, which consisted of highly emotional ranting about the pressure he was under, and members of the jury wept in sympathy for the defendant.
White represented the "old guard" of San Francisco, who were wary of the influx of minority groups in to the city and represented a more conservative, traditional view that the more liberal forces in the city, like Moscone and Milk, were perceived to be eroding. The San Francisco Police Department had, in conjunction with the fire department, raised more than $100,000 to defend White, which earned the anger of the gay community. He was given the most lenient possible conviction, voluntary manslaughter, and sentenced to seven years and eight months in Soledad prison. With good behavior he had the chance to be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, about five years. Upon hearing the verdict, District Attorney Joseph Freitas, Jr., said "It was a wrong decision. The jury was overwhelmed by emotions and did not sufficiently analyze the evidence that this was deliberate, calculated murder." In defense of his client, White's attorney Douglas Schmidt stated that White "is filled with remorse and I think he's in a very bad condition."
White would later confirm that the killings were premeditated. In 1984, he told former police Inspector Frank Falzon that not only had he planned to kill Moscone and Milk, but also had plans to kill Assemblyman Willie Brown
and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver
. He believed that the four politicians were attempting to block his reinstatement as Supervisor.
addressed an audience of about five hundred people that had gathered on Castro Street, telling them of the verdict. With shouts of "Out of the bars and into the streets" Jones led a crowd down Castro street, its numbers bolstered by people emerging from each bar. The crowd circled around and marched through the Castro again, by now numbering about 1,500 people.
In a 1984 interview, Jones gave a voice to the feeling in the crowd as they began to group together on Castro Street after news of the verdict spread, stating, "The rage in people’s face — I saw people I’d known for years, and they were so furious. That to me was the scariest thing. All these people I’d know from the neighborhood, boys from the corner, these people I’d ridden the bus with, just out there, screaming for blood."
By the time the crowd reached City Hall its numbers had increased to over 5,000. Protesters shouted slogans such as "Kill Dan White" and "Dump Dianne," a reference to Mayor Dianne Feinstein
. The handful of police officers on duty at the scene were uncertain about how to deal with the situation, and the Police Department, which was unaccustomed to an angry gay crowd, was similarly uncertain of how to proceed. The protesters were convinced that the police and prosecution had conspired to avoid a severe sentence for White, although Prosecutor Thomas Norman denied this repeatedly until his death.
Members of the crowd tore gilded ornamental work from the building's wrought iron doors and then used it to break first floor windows. Several of Harvey Milk's friends monitored and attempted to hold back the crowd, including former lover Scott Smith
. A formation of police appeared on the north side of the Civic Center Plaza
, and those attempting to hold back the mob sat down, grateful for the reinforcements. The officers however may not have realized that they were holding back the crowd, and instead attacked them with night sticks
.
One young man kicked and smashed the window of a police car, lit a pack of matches, and set the upholstery on fire. After burning for a short time, the fuel tank exploded; a dozen more police cars and eight other automobiles would be destroyed in a similar fashion. Several crowd members threw tear gas, which they had stolen from police vehicles. Riots began to break out, with one mob disrupting traffic and smashing windows of cars and stores. Electric trollies
were disabled when their overhead wires were pulled down, and violence broke out against the police officers, who were outnumbered. Police Chief Charles Gain, standing inside City Hall, ordered officers not to attack and to simply stand their ground.
Mayor Feinstein and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver
addressed the demonstrators in an attempt to defuse the situation. Mayor Feinstein said that she had received news of the verdict "with disbelief", and Supervisor Silver stated, "Dan White has gotten away with murder. It's as simple as that." Silver was injured when struck by a flying object. More than 140 protesters were also injured.
s." Sixty officers were injured, and about two dozen arrests were made.
The second stage of the violence was a police raid/riot hours later in the predominantly gay Castro neighborhood, which vandalized the Elephant Walk bar and injured many of its occupants. After order was restored at City Hall, SFPD cars carrying dozens of officers headed into the Castro District. Officers entered a gay bar called the Elephant Walk, despite their orders not to do so. They shouted "dirty cocksuckers" and "sick faggots", shattered the large plate glass windows of the bar, and attacked patrons. After fifteen minutes police withdrew from the bar and joined other officers who were indiscriminately attacking gays on the street. The incident lasted nearly two hours.
When Police Chief Charles Gain
heard about the unauthorized Elephant Walk raid, he immediately went to the location and ordered his men to leave. Later that night, freelance reporter Michael Weiss saw a group of police officers celebrating at a downtown bar. "We were at City Hall the day [the killings] happened and we were smiling then," one officer explained. "We were there tonight and we're still smiling."
At least sixty-one police officers and an estimated one hundred gays were hospitalized in the course of the riot. A civil grand jury
convened to find out who ordered the attack, but it ended inconclusively with a settlement covering personal injury claims and damages.
, who had replaced Milk, along with the more militant gays of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, made it clear that nobody was to apologize for the riots. Britt informed a press conference, "Harvey Milk's people do not have anything to apologize for. Now the society is going to have to deal with us not as nice little fairies who have hairdressing salons, but as people capable of violence. We're not going to put up with Dan Whites anymore." Reporters were surprised that a public official would condone the violent acts of the previous night, expecting an apology from Britt. Subsequent attempts to find a gay leader who would give an apologetic statement proved unsuccessful.
That evening, May 22, would have been the 49th birthday of Harvey Milk. City officials had considered revoking the permit for a rally planned for that night, but decided against it for fear of sparking more violence. Officials stated that the rally could channel the community's anger into something positive. Police from San Francisco and its neighboring towns were placed on alert by Mayor Feinstein, and Cleve Jones
coordinated contingency plans with the police, and trained three hundred monitors to keep an eye on the crowd. Approximately 20,000 people gathered on Castro and Market streets, where the mood was "angry, but subdued." Officers monitored the crowd from a distance, however the crowd engaged in a peaceful celebration of Milk's life. Attendees danced to popular disco songs, drank beer, and sang a tribute to Milk.
On the same night, for over three hours about one hundred people held a demonstration at Sheridan Square in Manhattan
, to protest the verdict. About twenty officers observed the protest, which began at 8 p.m., but no arrests were made. A candlelight vigil was planned for two days ahead, sponsored by the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and the National Gay Task Force
.
On October 14, 1979, over 100,000 people marched on Washington
for gay rights. Many carried portraits of Milk, and placards honoring his legacy. The rally, something that Milk had intended to organize, was instead a tribute to his life.
Dan White was released from prison on January 14, 1984 after serving five years of a seven-year, eight-month sentence. On the evening following his release, 9,000 people marched down Castro street and burned his effigy
. State authorities reportedly feared an assassination attempt, and in response Scott Smith urged people not to retaliate with violence. He stated, "Harvey was against the death penalty. He was a nonviolent person."
White committed suicide by self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning
on October 21, 1985. He connected a rubber hose to his car's exhaust system and routed it to the interior of the vehicle, which he let fill with carbon monoxide
. Mayor Feinstein said, "This latest tragedy should close a very sad chapter in this city's history." According to Orange County lawyer Jeff Walsworth, White had expressed remorse for the killings in February 1984. White reportedly stated that it would always cause him inner turmoil.
to revoke their alcohol licenses. They were accused of serving alcohol to homosexuals—a criminal act at the time.
The growing political and economic power of the city's gay community conflicted with the established but dwindling numbers of the conservative institutions, such as the police and fire departments. By 1971, police were arresting an average of 2,800 men per year on public sex charges; by contrast sixty-three such arrests were made in New York City
although up to a quarter of San Francisco was reported to be gay at the time. Many charges were dismissed due to entrapment, but several men were given harsh sentences.
When Dan White was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, his successful diminished capacity
defense enraged the gay community. That the police and fire department had raised money for his defense gave their anger a focus, turning it against the city government and especially the SFPD.
One of Mayor Feinstein's first actions upon being elected was to announce the appointment of Cornelius Murphy as the new Chief of Police. Murphy declared that police cars would no longer be colored powder blue
, but instead would be repainted as "macho black-and-whites." This pleased the rank and file, and restored confidence in police leadership. Murphy also vowed to maintain the progressive policy towards gays that his predecessor had implemented. By 1980, one in seven new police recruits was either gay or lesbian. In one of his last public appearances, outgoing Police Chief Charles Gain stated that he fully expected to see the day when San Francisco would have both a gay mayor and Chief of Police. By October 1985, an organization for gay law enforcement personnel in California, the Golden State Peace Officers Association, had incorporated as a non-profit organization. It was founded by Art Roth, an Oakland police officer who was present on the night of the riots.
Thirty years after the announcement of Dan White's guilty verdict, the Supreme Court of California
prepared their decision on Strauss v. Horton. The case was an attempt to overturn Proposition 8
, which had added the statement "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" to Article I, section 7.5 of the California State Constitution. This ballot initiative, which was approved in 2008, eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in the state.
In late May 2009, while the Court was preparing its announcement, rumors surfaced on the Internet that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
had asked the court not to announce the decision on May 21. They suggested that he made this request so that the announcement would not coincide with the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots. San Francisco Communications Director Nathan Ballard published a press release on May 20, stating that the allegation was untrue. On May 26, the court upheld the validity of Proposition 8, but ruled that the 18,000 marriages that had already been performed would remain valid.
Cleve Jones played a major role in the investigation of the riots, and had since become a prominent activist. He dropped out of school to work as a legislative consultant to California State Assembly Speakers Leo McCarthy and Willie Brown
. He also spent time organizing political campaigns. In 1981, while working as a consultant to the California State Assembly Health Committee, he became aware of gay men in San Francisco contracting unusual diseases, such as Kaposi's sarcoma
. The gay community was eventually seriously affected by the AIDS epidemic
, and Jones became a key AIDS activist. Jones co-founded the Kaposi's Sarcoma Research & Education Foundation, which in 1982 became the San Francisco AIDS Foundation
. On November 27, 1985, at a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of the Moscone-Milk assassinations
, Jones learned that 1,000 people had died of AIDS. He proposed the creation of a quilt, in remembrance of those who had died. In 1987, Jones, by then HIV-positive himself, launched the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
. As of 2009, the quilt consists of over 44,000 individual panels. In a 2004 interview, Jones said "I thought, what a perfect symbol; what a warm, comforting, middle-class, middle-American, traditional-family-values symbol to attach to this disease that's killing homosexuals and IV drug users and Haitian immigrants, and maybe, just maybe, we could apply those traditional family values to my family."
Dan White
Daniel James "Dan" White was a San Francisco supervisor who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall...
, for the assassinations
Moscone-Milk assassinations
The Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
and San Francisco Supervisor
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979 (the night before what would have been Milk's 49th birthday) in San Francisco. Earlier that day, White had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter
Voluntary Manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion," under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. In the Uniform Crime Reports prepared by the...
, the lightest possible conviction for his actions.
The gay community of San Francisco had a longstanding conflict with the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
. White's status as a former police officer intensified the community's anger at the SFPD. Initial demonstrations took place as a peaceful march through the Castro district of San Francisco. After the crowd arrived at the San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall, re-opened in 1915, in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is the fifth largest in the world...
, violence began. The events caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property damage to City Hall and the surrounding area, as well as injuries to police officers and rioters.
Several hours after the riot had been broken up, police made a retaliatory raid on a gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
in San Francisco's Castro District. Many patrons were beaten by police in riot gear. Two dozen arrests were made during the course of the raid, and several people later sued the SFPD.
In the following days, gay leaders refused to apologize for the events of that night. This led to increased political power in the gay community, which culminated in the election of Mayor Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
to a full term, the following November. In response to a campaign promise, Feinstein appointed a pro-gay Chief of Police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
, which increased recruitment of gays in the police force and eased tensions.
Gay history of San Francisco
The American settlers who moved west toward CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the 18th and 19th centuries were largely male prospectors and miners. Events such as the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
created a broadly male society in that region. Romantic friendship
Romantic friendship
The term romantic friendship refers to both very close but non-sexual relationship and at times physical relationship between friends, often involving a degree of physical closeness beyond that which is common in modern Western societies, and may include for example holding hands, cuddling,...
s were common, and often tolerated. As San Francisco was settled the ratio of men to women remained disproportionately high, resulting in the growth of a culture that was more open-minded towards homosexuality. The city's notorious brothel district – named the Barbary Coast – earned the city a reputation as a lawless and amoral society leading to San Francisco becoming known as "Sodom by the Sea."
The end of Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
prompted the opening of several gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s along North Beach. The most notable of these were the Black Cat
Black Cat Bar
The Black Cat Bar or Black Cat Café was a bar in San Francisco, California. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1921. The Black Cat re-opened in 1933 and operated for another 30 years...
where female impersonation shows became the main draw, and a lesbian bar known as Mona's.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, San Francisco became a major debarkation point for servicemen stationed in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. The U.S. military, which was concerned about male homosexuality, had a policy of dismissing servicemen caught in known gay establishments with blue discharge
Blue discharge
A blue discharge was a form of administrative military discharge formerly issued by the United States beginning in 1916. It was neither honorable nor dishonorable. The blue ticket became the discharge of choice for commanders seeking to remove homosexual service members from the ranks...
s. As many of these men faced ostracism from their communities and families, they chose to remain in the city. The number of men that remained was a significant factor in the creation of a homosexual community in San Francisco.
Gay activism in San Francisco
In 1951, the California Supreme Court affirmed in Stoumen v. Reilly the right of homosexuals to assemble peacefully, an action which angered the police department. To assist homosexuals with legal problems, in 1951 labor activist Harry HayHarry Hay
Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr. was a labor advocate, teacher and early leader in the American LGBT rights movement. He is known for his roles in helping to found several gay organizations, including the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights group in the United States.Hay was exposed early in...
started the Mattachine Society
Mattachine Society
The Mattachine Society, founded in 1950, was one of the earliest homophile organizations in the United States, probably second only to Chicago’s Society for Human Rights . Harry Hay and a group of Los Angeles male friends formed the group to protect and improve the rights of homosexuals...
, from his living room in Los Angeles. A few years later, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin started the Daughters of Bilitis
Daughters of Bilitis
The Daughters of Bilitis , was the first lesbian rights organization in the United States. It was formed in San Francisco in 1955, conceived as a social alternative to lesbian bars, which were considered illegal and thus subject to raids and police harassment...
with six other women in San Francisco, initially to have a place to socialize without fear of harassment or arrest. Within a few years, both organizations learned of each other and grew to have similar goals: helping assimilate homosexuals into general society, working for legal reform to repeal sodomy laws, and assisting those who were arrested. Both groups were headquartered in San Francisco by 1957.
Police continued to arrest homosexuals in large numbers, routinely bringing paddy wagons to gay bars and arresting their patrons. Charges were usually dismissed but those arrested often lost their anonymity when newspapers printed their names, addresses and places of employment. Officers also notified the employer and family of the accused, causing serious damage to their reputations.
In 1964, a New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
benefit event was held for the Council on Religion and the Homosexual
Council on Religion and the Homosexual
The Council on Religion and the Homosexual was a San Francisco-based organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of joining homosexual activists and religious leaders.-Formation:...
. Police stood outside with large floodlights, and in an effort to intimidate took photographs of anyone entering the building. Later, several officers demanded that they be allowed inside. Three lawyers explained to them that under California law, the event was a private party and they could not enter unless they bought tickets. The lawyers were then arrested. Several ministers who were in attendance held a press conference the next morning, likening the SFPD to the Gestapo. Even the Catholic archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
strongly condemned the actions of the police. In an attempt to reduce such harassment two officers were tasked with improving the police department's relationship with the gay community.
The Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis promoted non-confrontational education for homosexuals and heterosexuals, hoping to prove that homosexuals were respectable and normal. Living beyond the mostly white, middle class scope of these groups was an active community of cross-dressers, hustlers, and "street queens" who worked primarily in the Tenderloin district of the city. After being denied service at Gene Compton's Cafeteria, a few activists picketed the restaurant in 1966. A few days later, early in the morning, the police arrived to arrest patrons in drag. A riot ensued
Compton's cafeteria riot
The Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This incident was one of the first recorded transgender riots in United States history, preceding the more famous 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.A smaller-scale riot broke out in 1959 in Los...
when a drag queen threw the contents of a cup of coffee in the face of a police officer in response to the officer's grabbing of her arm. The cafe's plate glass windows were shattered in the melée, and then again a few days later after they had been replaced. Although the Stonewall riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
three years later would have a more significant impact, the Compton's cafeteria riots were among the first in American history where homosexuals and the newly forming transgender community fought against the authorities.A smaller-scale riot broke out in 1959 in Los Angeles, when the drag queens and street hustlers
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
who hung out at Cooper's Donuts and who were frequently harassed by the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
fought back after police arrested three people, including John Rechy
John Rechy
John Francis Rechy, , is an American author, the child of a half-Scottish and half-Mexican father, Roberto Rechy, and a Mexican-American mother, Guadalupe Flores. In his novels he has written extensively about homosexual culture in Los Angeles and wider America, and is among the pioneers of modern...
. Patrons began pelting the police with donuts and coffee cups. The LAPD called for back-up and arrested a number of rioters. Rechy and the other two original detainees were able to escape (Faderman and Timmons, pp. 1–2).
Political clout
San Francisco continued to grow as a haven for homosexuals. North Beach and Polk Street had been quiet neighborhoods each with a large homosexual population, but in the 1960s the growth of the Castro District outpaced either of them. Thousands of gay men migrated to San Francisco, turning the quiet Irish working-class neighborhood around Castro Street into a bustling center of activity. New Yorker Harvey MilkHarvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
resettled on Castro Street in 1972, and opened Castro Camera
Castro Camera
Castro Camera was a camera store in the Castro District of San Francisco, California, operated by Harvey Milk from 1972 until his assassination in 1978...
the following year. Dissatisfied with the level of bureaucratic apathy and indifference toward the gay community, Milk decided to run for city supervisor. Through his multiple campaigns he became the political voice for the gay community, promoting himself as the "Mayor of Castro Street." By 1977, 25 percent of the population of San Francisco was reported to be gay.
On Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
of 1974, tensions between the gay community and the SFPD came to a head when a man was beaten and arrested while walking down Castro Street. Police reinforcements suddenly appeared on the street, their badge numbers hidden, and beat dozens of gay men. Fourteen were arrested and charged with obstructing a sidewalk. Harvey Milk dubbed them the "Castro 14", and a $1.375 million lawsuit was filed against the police.
In 1975, after George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
had been elected Mayor, he appointed Charles Gain
Charles Gain
Charles Gain is a retired police official, who served first as police chief for Oakland, Calif., then as chief in San Francisco in the 1970s.In 1975, Gain was appointed to run the San Francisco Police Department by Mayor George Moscone and served 1975 to 1980...
as his Chief of Police. Gain, whose conciliatory position towards African Americans had branded him as one of the most liberal law enforcement officers in the country, soon earned the ire of the police force. Gain implemented policies that proved unpopular with his staff, such as painting police cars powder blue
Powder blue
Powder blue may refer to two different colors.The paler variant is often associated with powder snow.-Powder blue :The web color powder blue is shown on the right....
, and barring officers from drinking on the job. His lenient policies towards gays also angered the police force. When asked what he would do if a gay police officer came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
, Gain replied "I certainly think that a gay policeman could be up front about it under me. If I had a gay policeman who came out, I would support him one hundred percent." This statement sent shockwaves through the police department, and made national headlines. Made during the first week of Gain's tenure, the remark also made Mayor Moscone extremely unpopular with the police. The two were so intensely disliked by the police that in 1977 rumors circulated about a plan by right-wing police officers to assassinate Gain, and a year later similar plans formed targeting Mayor Moscone. Upon being informed of this threat, Moscone hired a bodyguard.
Assassinations
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
on November 10, 1978. However, after a meeting with the Police Officers' association and the Board of Realtors, White announced that he wanted his seat back. Liberal Supervisors saw this as an opportunity to end the 6-5 split on the Board that blocked progressive initiatives they wanted to introduce. After intense lobbying by Supervisors Milk and Silver, as well as State Assemblyman
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
, Moscone announced on November 26, 1978 that he would not be appointing Dan White to the vacant seat.
The next morning White went to City Hall armed with his police .38 Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...
revolver and ten extra cartridges in his coat pocket. To avoid the metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
he entered the building through a basement window, and proceeded to the office of Mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
. Following a brief argument, White shot the Mayor in the shoulder and chest, and then twice in the head. White then walked to his former office, reloading his gun, and asked Milk to join him. Supervisor Dianne Feinstein heard gunshots and called the police, who found Milk on the floor, shot five times.
Dan White verdict
On May 21, 1979, White was found guilty of the voluntary manslaughterVoluntary Manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion," under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. In the Uniform Crime Reports prepared by the...
of Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Milk. The prosecutor asked for a finding of first-degree murder with "special circumstances", which would have permitted the death penalty under the terms of a recently adopted capital punishment law in California, Proposition 7. The "special circumstances" in this case were that Mayor Moscone had been killed in order to block the appointment of someone to fill the City Supervisor seat from which Dan White had resigned, and also that multiple people were killed.
White's sentence was reduced due in part to the so-called Twinkie defense
Twinkie defense
"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catchall term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor...
, a verdict that provoked outrage in the community. The "Twinkie" defense was presented by a psychiatrist to the jury, stating that White had a diminished capacity
Diminished Capacity
Diminished Capacity is a comedy film directed by Terry Kinney and starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, and Alan Alda. It was released at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in July 2008...
due to depression. The copious amounts of junk food White consumed are cited as a symptom of his mental state. It has also been stated that the refined sugars present in White's diet preceding the killings may have fueled the depression. The composition of the jury was also considered a factor. It was composed of persons whom were predominantly Roman Catholic, working-class, heterosexual, and white--essentially the same demographic in the city who felt sympathy for White. The jury heard a tape recording of White's confession, which consisted of highly emotional ranting about the pressure he was under, and members of the jury wept in sympathy for the defendant.
White represented the "old guard" of San Francisco, who were wary of the influx of minority groups in to the city and represented a more conservative, traditional view that the more liberal forces in the city, like Moscone and Milk, were perceived to be eroding. The San Francisco Police Department had, in conjunction with the fire department, raised more than $100,000 to defend White, which earned the anger of the gay community. He was given the most lenient possible conviction, voluntary manslaughter, and sentenced to seven years and eight months in Soledad prison. With good behavior he had the chance to be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, about five years. Upon hearing the verdict, District Attorney Joseph Freitas, Jr., said "It was a wrong decision. The jury was overwhelmed by emotions and did not sufficiently analyze the evidence that this was deliberate, calculated murder." In defense of his client, White's attorney Douglas Schmidt stated that White "is filled with remorse and I think he's in a very bad condition."
White would later confirm that the killings were premeditated. In 1984, he told former police Inspector Frank Falzon that not only had he planned to kill Moscone and Milk, but also had plans to kill Assemblyman Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver
Carol Ruth Silver
Carol Ruth Silver is an American lawyer and former politician. She was a Freedom Rider arrested and incarcerated for 40 days in Jackson, Mississippi,...
. He believed that the four politicians were attempting to block his reinstatement as Supervisor.
March through the Castro
When told of the verdict, Milk's friend and activist Cleve JonesCleve Jones
Cleve Jones is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2009...
addressed an audience of about five hundred people that had gathered on Castro Street, telling them of the verdict. With shouts of "Out of the bars and into the streets" Jones led a crowd down Castro street, its numbers bolstered by people emerging from each bar. The crowd circled around and marched through the Castro again, by now numbering about 1,500 people.
In a 1984 interview, Jones gave a voice to the feeling in the crowd as they began to group together on Castro Street after news of the verdict spread, stating, "The rage in people’s face — I saw people I’d known for years, and they were so furious. That to me was the scariest thing. All these people I’d know from the neighborhood, boys from the corner, these people I’d ridden the bus with, just out there, screaming for blood."
Violence at City Hall
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
. The handful of police officers on duty at the scene were uncertain about how to deal with the situation, and the Police Department, which was unaccustomed to an angry gay crowd, was similarly uncertain of how to proceed. The protesters were convinced that the police and prosecution had conspired to avoid a severe sentence for White, although Prosecutor Thomas Norman denied this repeatedly until his death.
Members of the crowd tore gilded ornamental work from the building's wrought iron doors and then used it to break first floor windows. Several of Harvey Milk's friends monitored and attempted to hold back the crowd, including former lover Scott Smith
Scott Smith (activist)
Joseph Scott Smith was a gay rights activist best known for his romantic relationship with Harvey Milk.-Biography:Smith was widely considered the muscle behind many of Milk's endeavors...
. A formation of police appeared on the north side of the Civic Center Plaza
Civic Center, San Francisco, California
The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, is an area of a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions. It has two large plazas and a number of buildings in classical architectural style...
, and those attempting to hold back the mob sat down, grateful for the reinforcements. The officers however may not have realized that they were holding back the crowd, and instead attacked them with night sticks
Baton (law enforcement)
A truncheon or baton is essentially a club of less than arm's length made of wood, plastic, or metal...
.
One young man kicked and smashed the window of a police car, lit a pack of matches, and set the upholstery on fire. After burning for a short time, the fuel tank exploded; a dozen more police cars and eight other automobiles would be destroyed in a similar fashion. Several crowd members threw tear gas, which they had stolen from police vehicles. Riots began to break out, with one mob disrupting traffic and smashing windows of cars and stores. Electric trollies
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
were disabled when their overhead wires were pulled down, and violence broke out against the police officers, who were outnumbered. Police Chief Charles Gain, standing inside City Hall, ordered officers not to attack and to simply stand their ground.
Mayor Feinstein and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver
Carol Ruth Silver
Carol Ruth Silver is an American lawyer and former politician. She was a Freedom Rider arrested and incarcerated for 40 days in Jackson, Mississippi,...
addressed the demonstrators in an attempt to defuse the situation. Mayor Feinstein said that she had received news of the verdict "with disbelief", and Supervisor Silver stated, "Dan White has gotten away with murder. It's as simple as that." Silver was injured when struck by a flying object. More than 140 protesters were also injured.
Police retaliation
After nearly three hours of shouts from the angry crowd, officers moved in to quell the riot. Police reportedly covered their badges with black tape—preventing any identification—and attacked rioters. Dozens of police officers swept into the crowd, using tear gas to force protesters away from the building. Police were surprised at the resistance they faced from the protesters, who attempted to push them back using tree branches, chrome torn off city buses, and asphalt ripped from the street, as weapons. As one man ignited the last police car he shouted to a reporter "Make sure you put in the paper that I ate too many TwinkieTwinkie
The Twinkie is an American snack cake made and distributed by Hostess Brands. They are marketed as a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling".-History:...
s." Sixty officers were injured, and about two dozen arrests were made.
The second stage of the violence was a police raid/riot hours later in the predominantly gay Castro neighborhood, which vandalized the Elephant Walk bar and injured many of its occupants. After order was restored at City Hall, SFPD cars carrying dozens of officers headed into the Castro District. Officers entered a gay bar called the Elephant Walk, despite their orders not to do so. They shouted "dirty cocksuckers" and "sick faggots", shattered the large plate glass windows of the bar, and attacked patrons. After fifteen minutes police withdrew from the bar and joined other officers who were indiscriminately attacking gays on the street. The incident lasted nearly two hours.
When Police Chief Charles Gain
Charles Gain
Charles Gain is a retired police official, who served first as police chief for Oakland, Calif., then as chief in San Francisco in the 1970s.In 1975, Gain was appointed to run the San Francisco Police Department by Mayor George Moscone and served 1975 to 1980...
heard about the unauthorized Elephant Walk raid, he immediately went to the location and ordered his men to leave. Later that night, freelance reporter Michael Weiss saw a group of police officers celebrating at a downtown bar. "We were at City Hall the day [the killings] happened and we were smiling then," one officer explained. "We were there tonight and we're still smiling."
At least sixty-one police officers and an estimated one hundred gays were hospitalized in the course of the riot. A civil grand jury
Civil grand jury
A civil grand jury is a panel convened to investigate specific local governments....
convened to find out who ordered the attack, but it ended inconclusively with a settlement covering personal injury claims and damages.
Aftermath
The next morning gay leaders convened in a committee room in the Civic Center. Supervisor Harry BrittHarry Britt
Harry Britt is a political activist and former Supervisor for San Francisco, California. Britt was involved during the late 1960s in the civil rights movement when he was a Methodist minister in Chicago...
, who had replaced Milk, along with the more militant gays of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, made it clear that nobody was to apologize for the riots. Britt informed a press conference, "Harvey Milk's people do not have anything to apologize for. Now the society is going to have to deal with us not as nice little fairies who have hairdressing salons, but as people capable of violence. We're not going to put up with Dan Whites anymore." Reporters were surprised that a public official would condone the violent acts of the previous night, expecting an apology from Britt. Subsequent attempts to find a gay leader who would give an apologetic statement proved unsuccessful.
That evening, May 22, would have been the 49th birthday of Harvey Milk. City officials had considered revoking the permit for a rally planned for that night, but decided against it for fear of sparking more violence. Officials stated that the rally could channel the community's anger into something positive. Police from San Francisco and its neighboring towns were placed on alert by Mayor Feinstein, and Cleve Jones
Cleve Jones
Cleve Jones is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2009...
coordinated contingency plans with the police, and trained three hundred monitors to keep an eye on the crowd. Approximately 20,000 people gathered on Castro and Market streets, where the mood was "angry, but subdued." Officers monitored the crowd from a distance, however the crowd engaged in a peaceful celebration of Milk's life. Attendees danced to popular disco songs, drank beer, and sang a tribute to Milk.
On the same night, for over three hours about one hundred people held a demonstration at Sheridan Square in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, to protest the verdict. About twenty officers observed the protest, which began at 8 p.m., but no arrests were made. A candlelight vigil was planned for two days ahead, sponsored by the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and the National Gay Task Force
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...
.
On October 14, 1979, over 100,000 people marched on Washington
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 14, 1979. The first such march on Washington, it drew between 75,000 and 125,000 gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people and straight allies to demand...
for gay rights. Many carried portraits of Milk, and placards honoring his legacy. The rally, something that Milk had intended to organize, was instead a tribute to his life.
Dan White was released from prison on January 14, 1984 after serving five years of a seven-year, eight-month sentence. On the evening following his release, 9,000 people marched down Castro street and burned his effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
. State authorities reportedly feared an assassination attempt, and in response Scott Smith urged people not to retaliate with violence. He stated, "Harvey was against the death penalty. He was a nonviolent person."
White committed suicide by self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
on October 21, 1985. He connected a rubber hose to his car's exhaust system and routed it to the interior of the vehicle, which he let fill with carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
. Mayor Feinstein said, "This latest tragedy should close a very sad chapter in this city's history." According to Orange County lawyer Jeff Walsworth, White had expressed remorse for the killings in February 1984. White reportedly stated that it would always cause him inner turmoil.
Causes
This community had a long history of conflict with the San Francisco Police Department. Following World War II, gay bars were subject to frequent raids and attempts by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage ControlCalifornia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is an agency of the government of the state of California charged with regulation of alcoholic beverages....
to revoke their alcohol licenses. They were accused of serving alcohol to homosexuals—a criminal act at the time.
The growing political and economic power of the city's gay community conflicted with the established but dwindling numbers of the conservative institutions, such as the police and fire departments. By 1971, police were arresting an average of 2,800 men per year on public sex charges; by contrast sixty-three such arrests were made in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
although up to a quarter of San Francisco was reported to be gay at the time. Many charges were dismissed due to entrapment, but several men were given harsh sentences.
When Dan White was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, his successful diminished capacity
Diminished Capacity
Diminished Capacity is a comedy film directed by Terry Kinney and starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, and Alan Alda. It was released at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in July 2008...
defense enraged the gay community. That the police and fire department had raised money for his defense gave their anger a focus, turning it against the city government and especially the SFPD.
Effects on San Francisco politics
With the 1979 municipal elections occurring only months after the riot, prominent gay leaders feared a backlash at the polls. The elections continued without incident, and the gay community fared better than expected, wielding unprecedented influence. Although the virtually unknown gay Mayoral candidate David Scott finished third in the election, his showing was strong enough to force Mayor Feinstein into a runoff election against conservative City Supervisor Quentin Kopp. Her promises to appoint more gay people to public office, and her heavy campaigning in the Castro, ensured that she won enough support from the gay community to give her a full term as Mayor.One of Mayor Feinstein's first actions upon being elected was to announce the appointment of Cornelius Murphy as the new Chief of Police. Murphy declared that police cars would no longer be colored powder blue
Powder blue
Powder blue may refer to two different colors.The paler variant is often associated with powder snow.-Powder blue :The web color powder blue is shown on the right....
, but instead would be repainted as "macho black-and-whites." This pleased the rank and file, and restored confidence in police leadership. Murphy also vowed to maintain the progressive policy towards gays that his predecessor had implemented. By 1980, one in seven new police recruits was either gay or lesbian. In one of his last public appearances, outgoing Police Chief Charles Gain stated that he fully expected to see the day when San Francisco would have both a gay mayor and Chief of Police. By October 1985, an organization for gay law enforcement personnel in California, the Golden State Peace Officers Association, had incorporated as a non-profit organization. It was founded by Art Roth, an Oakland police officer who was present on the night of the riots.
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
prepared their decision on Strauss v. Horton. The case was an attempt to overturn Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, which had added the statement "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" to Article I, section 7.5 of the California State Constitution. This ballot initiative, which was approved in 2008, eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in the state.
In late May 2009, while the Court was preparing its announcement, rumors surfaced on the Internet that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
had asked the court not to announce the decision on May 21. They suggested that he made this request so that the announcement would not coincide with the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots. San Francisco Communications Director Nathan Ballard published a press release on May 20, stating that the allegation was untrue. On May 26, the court upheld the validity of Proposition 8, but ruled that the 18,000 marriages that had already been performed would remain valid.
Effects on the AIDS movement
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
. He also spent time organizing political campaigns. In 1981, while working as a consultant to the California State Assembly Health Committee, he became aware of gay men in San Francisco contracting unusual diseases, such as Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
. The gay community was eventually seriously affected by the AIDS epidemic
AIDS pandemic
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is a widespread disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus .Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to the deaths of more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in recorded history.Despite recent...
, and Jones became a key AIDS activist. Jones co-founded the Kaposi's Sarcoma Research & Education Foundation, which in 1982 became the San Francisco AIDS Foundation
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Committed to ending the pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation develops innovative solutions, combining scientific evidence with community experience to fight HIV/AIDS and promote health...
. On November 27, 1985, at a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of the Moscone-Milk assassinations
Moscone-Milk assassinations
The Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
, Jones learned that 1,000 people had died of AIDS. He proposed the creation of a quilt, in remembrance of those who had died. In 1987, Jones, by then HIV-positive himself, launched the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes...
. As of 2009, the quilt consists of over 44,000 individual panels. In a 2004 interview, Jones said "I thought, what a perfect symbol; what a warm, comforting, middle-class, middle-American, traditional-family-values symbol to attach to this disease that's killing homosexuals and IV drug users and Haitian immigrants, and maybe, just maybe, we could apply those traditional family values to my family."
See also
- LGBT HistoryLGBT historyLGBT history refers to the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender peoples and cultures around the world, dating back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and sexuality of ancient civilizations. What survives of many centuries' persecution– resulting in shame, suppression,...
- The Times of Harvey MilkThe Times of Harvey MilkThe Times of Harvey Milk is an American documentary film that premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco...
, a 1984 documentary which describes the White Night riots. - Gay Power, Gay PoliticsGay Power, Gay PoliticsCBS Reports: Gay Power, Gay Politics is a 1980 episode of the American documentary television series CBS Reports. It was anchored by Harry Reasoner with reportage by George Crile. Crile also produced the episode with co-producer Grace Diekhaus...
, an episode of CBS ReportsCBS ReportsCBS Reports is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with 60 Minutes , as a series of its own or as specials. The program aired as a constant series from 1959 to 1971...
about the San Francisco LGBT community, produced in the aftermath of the riots. - Stonewall riotsStonewall riotsThe Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...