Eleven months after his inauguration on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone in City Hall, the victim of a former Supervisor’s outrage over the liberal shift in city politics.
Milk was instantly made a martyr of the gay community.
Sensing the danger of his position within city government, he had created several
recorded wills to be played in the event of his assassination. One memorable line is inscribed today in a plaza named for him: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”
The gunman, Dan White, was eventually charged and convicted of manslaughter, serving only five years in prison and committing suicide shortly after.
His trial strategy is infamously known as the “Twinkie Defense,” in which his lawyer argued White’s depression because of the large amounts of junk food he had ingested.
The verdict inflamed members of San Francisco’s gay community, and the evening following the verdict, a mob encroached upon City Hall in what was to be known as the White Night Riots.
Outraged citizens clashed with police, who took on their own anti-gay agenda, mercilessly beating individuals and destroying property in the largely gay Castro neighborhood.
The following day was Harvey Milk’s birthday, and, fearing a second night of rioting, the city permitted Castro Street to be closed in celebration of Milk and his legacy.
The celebration went smoothly as individuals spoke on a makeshift stage and disco music filled the air, a fitting tribute to a man named as one of the 100 most influential politicians by TIME magazine.
Milk’s political journey ended abruptly, but not without a budding, still-growing legacy.
Along with an annual commemorative candlelight march in San Francisco honoring Milk and Moscone, the Harvey Milk High School in New York serves at-risk LGBT youth, and several notable landmarks in San Francisco's Castro district have been named for him, all of which are a testament to his impact on the community in San Francisco and across the country.
Milk was instantly made a martyr of the gay community.
Sensing the danger of his position within city government, he had created several
recorded wills to be played in the event of his assassination. One memorable line is inscribed today in a plaza named for him: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” The gunman, Dan White, was eventually charged and convicted of manslaughter, serving only five years in prison and committing suicide shortly after.
His trial strategy is infamously known as the “Twinkie Defense,” in which his lawyer argued White’s depression because of the large amounts of junk food he had ingested.
The verdict inflamed members of San Francisco’s gay community, and the evening following the verdict, a mob encroached upon City Hall in what was to be known as the White Night Riots.
Outraged citizens clashed with police, who took on their own anti-gay agenda, mercilessly beating individuals and destroying property in the largely gay Castro neighborhood. The following day was Harvey Milk’s birthday, and, fearing a second night of rioting, the city permitted Castro Street to be closed in celebration of Milk and his legacy.
The celebration went smoothly as individuals spoke on a makeshift stage and disco music filled the air, a fitting tribute to a man named as one of the 100 most influential politicians by TIME magazine.
Milk’s political journey ended abruptly, but not without a budding, still-growing legacy.
Along with an annual commemorative candlelight march in San Francisco honoring Milk and Moscone, the Harvey Milk High School in New York serves at-risk LGBT youth, and several notable landmarks in San Francisco's Castro district have been named for him, all of which are a testament to his impact on the community in San Francisco and across the country.
*by Jason Villemez, 365Gay.com
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