Today in Labor History May 21, 1979: The White Night Riot occurred in San Francisco, California, the day before Harvey Milk’s birthday. On November 10, 1978, ex-cop and former city supervisor, Dan White, murdered Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, and the popular progressive mayor, George Moscone. His murder trial concluded on May 21. The jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. However, the prosecutor had asked for a finding of first-degree murder. It was, after all, premeditated. This verdict was likely influenced by the absurd Twinkie Defense, in which his lawyer argued that it could not have been premeditated due to his diminished capacity and depression, a symptom of which was his recent shift from a healthy diet to a junk food diet. A similar defense had failed repeatedly to get students excused from exams and school detentions.
Needless to say, the public was outraged. However, there had been decades of police harassment and physical abuse of San Francisco’s LGBTQ community lead up to this miscarriage of justice. Tens
... show moreToday in Labor History May 21, 1979: The White Night Riot occurred in San Francisco, California, the day before Harvey Milk’s birthday. On November 10, 1978, ex-cop and former city supervisor, Dan White, murdered Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, and the popular progressive mayor, George Moscone. His murder trial concluded on May 21. The jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. However, the prosecutor had asked for a finding of first-degree murder. It was, after all, premeditated. This verdict was likely influenced by the absurd Twinkie Defense, in which his lawyer argued that it could not have been premeditated due to his diminished capacity and depression, a symptom of which was his recent shift from a healthy diet to a junk food diet. A similar defense had failed repeatedly to get students excused from exams and school detentions.
Needless to say, the public was outraged. However, there had been decades of police harassment and physical abuse of San Francisco’s LGBTQ community lead up to this miscarriage of justice. Tensions were already high. And this ruling, which virtually absolved White of his homophobic crime, was the torch to the powder keg. Things began with a peaceful march through the Castro district. But when the crowd arrived at City Hall, violence began. People attacked the windows of City Hall. When the cops tried to protect the building, people hurled rocks and bottles at them, forcing them to run inside. Where ever the cops showed up, people threw rocks at them. At least a dozen cop cars were torched. They busted windows in the financial district and in government buildings.
Many people were injured. The riot caused hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of property damage to City Hall. And when the riot was finally subdued, the cops made a retaliatory raid on the Elephant Bar, in the Castro District. Cops in riot gear beat patrons. They arrested 24 people.
Furthermore, the double assassination of Moscone and Milk dramatically altered the political landscape of San Francisco. Under Moscone and Milk, the city was moving in a progressive, pro-neighborhood direction. With the new mayor, Diane Feinstein, city politics returned to the traditional, conservative, pro-Chamber of Commerce, law and order framework that had preceded Moscone and Milk, and the followed after them to this day.
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