History goes beyond what we are taught in school and what our textbooks tell us. We should all strive to learn about the events left behind by the books. One of these events is dubbed The White Night Riots.
The riots that define the event were started in retaliation to the death of Harvey Milk and George Moscone and the lenient sentencing that Dan White received for killing them. Harvey Milk was the first openly-gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. George Moscone was the mayor of San Francisco and a friend of Milk’s. The mayor was killed when White requested a private meeting with him and opened fire on him as soon as they were alone. He then left the office, telling someone who tried to stop him “I have something to do first.”
From there he headed towards his own previous office, meeting Harvey there and asking him to step inside. He then opened fire on him, the fatal shot being one fired at his head, followed by another into his skull in close range. White fled unchallenged but eventually turned himself in.
Following the news of the shooting, the LGBT+ community of San Francisco came out in droves to mourn and celebrate life. Tens of thousands of people attended a candlelight march in Castro. 4,500 people attended Moscone’s funeral, while Milk was cremated and his ashes spread across the Pacific Ocean.
Things took a turn as for the worse as White’s trial began. He was tried for 1st-degree murder, a crime that carried the death penalty in the state of California. His defense team fought this tooth and nail, once claiming that junk food consumption led to the mental state that led him to murder. The jury accepted their arguments, and Dan White was only found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The anger that followed the verdict is what sparked the White Night Riots.
When Milk’s friend, Cleve Jones, heard the verdict, he announced it to a crowd of 500 that had gathered on Castro Street. The group anger led to a chant of “out of the bars and into the streets.” Jones led the crowd down Castro Street, the crowd growing as the chant drew people out of bars. The group circled around and marched through Castro again, the number of people reaching 1,500. When asked about in a 1984 interview, Jones said the following.
“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 group reached City Hall, their numbers had hit 5,000. People shouted chants such as “Kill Dan White!” and the handful of police officers there grew unsure of how to deal with the escalating protests. Several members of the crowd tore off parts of the iron doors and used them to break windows as a number of Harvey’s friends trying to stop them and hold back the group. More police came, attacking the rioters with nightsticks.
As the night went on, the riots didn’t get any calmer. A dozen police cars were set on fire and electric trolleys were disabled due to the overhead wires being pulled down. Even as violence broke out against officers, Police Chief Charles Gain ordered officers not to attack and to simply stand their ground; this request was thrown out the window within hours. Officers even covered their identification badges with black tape and attacked rioters. At one point, they even entered Elephant Walk, a gay bar, despite their orders not to go in.
The next morning, LGBT+ leaders from across the city met up in a committee room at the Civic Center. Remorse for the riots was non-existent. Supervisor Harry Britt, who replaced Harvey Milk, informed a press conference the following.
“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.”
The media was surprised that a public official, such as Britt, would condone the violence as most reporters expected an apology. Finding such a leader that would apologize proved impossible.
White was released from prison on January 14, 1984, after serving just 5 years of 7 years and 8 months sentence. The following evening 9,000 people marched on Castro Street, burning his effigy as they went. He committed suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning in 1985. Inspector Falzone commenting on his death by saying that he never expressed remorse for his actions.
This seemingly forgotten historical period is now making its way into the spotlight. A mini-series based on the gay rights movement from the 1969 Stonewall riots to the present, by the name of “When We Rise” is set to premiere on ABC on February 27th.
A first person account of the riots can be found here.
“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet shatter every closet door.”
-Harvey Milk
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