May 22nd is Harvey Milk Day

It was one of the most pivotal moments in contemporary queer history, when San Francisco camera shop owner Harvey Milk was elected to the Sanf Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He was the first openly gay non-incumbent in America to be elected to public office. He would be murdered on November 27th, 1978, by former supervisor Dan White, who would also assassinate SF mayor George Moscone, touching off a series of riots through the city that would change SF, and beyond, politics forever. In 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation naming May 22nd as Harvey Milk Day, and it is celebrated in CA and elsewhere to this day.

 

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Born May 22nd, 1930, Milk became a symbol for the hope for a more inclusive future when he worked tirelessly for the rights of the queer community, and others, out of his camera store in the Castro. Dubbed "The Mayor of Castro," Milk was able to bring together seemingly disparate groups for the betterment of San Franciscans. Most notable was his working with trucking unions in the city, convincing the gay bars to dump Coors beer to curry favor and Union votes. He was long a promoter of unions and blue-collar workers, and they put their influence behind his ultimately successful run for Supervisor. This came after the city changed the way Supervisors were elected, moving towards neighborhood elections versus city-wide.

 

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At the time of the assassination,  Dan White, representing straight white Catholics primarily in an area that was increasingly diverse, had quit his position as Supervisor, citing financial difficulties and the meager pay afforded the position. When he attempted to regain Moscone's favor and regain his seat, Moscone denied him and chose another to replace him. On November 27th, 1978, White snuck into City Hall through a basement window, shot Moscone in his office, then killed Milk as they came across each other in a hallway.

California Senator Diane Feinstein, the president of the Board of Supervisors at the time, made the announcement to the press. White's tearful and emotional pleas of mental anguish, and his accounts of being disheartened by what he saw as his traditionally working-class, white, and straight San Francisco being denigrated by, as he saw it, the influence of people like Moscone and Milk, helped sway the all-white and all-straight jury. Along with, as his defense claimed, an unclear mental state do to junk food, deemed "The Twinkie Defense," White was convicted not of first-degree murder, but first-degree homicide, and sentenced to less than eight years. Time served and good behavior would reduce that to five years.

The city replied with shock and anger that boiled over into the streets.

 

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One of the relics of the trial was a change in the law regarding a defense of "diminished capacity," that Twinkie Defence. California voters said it could no longer be used as a defense for the crime, but could be considered in sentencing. White was released from jail in January of 1984. In October of 1985, he committed suicide in his wife's garage by carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

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Milk has been the subject of an award-winning documentary and the Sean Penn-starring film Milk. He has had roads, schools, and a naval ship named after him. His legacy as a LGBTQ+ leader, challenging us all to work for our community, is undiminished in the almost 50 years since his death.

HAPPY HARVEY MILK DAY!

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