The San Francisco •Œwhite Nightâ•Š Riots of 1979
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Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History, Series II Volume 9 Article 9 2004 The aS n Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979 Bruce Martinez Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/historical-perspectives Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Martinez, Bruce (2004) "The aS n Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979," Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History, Series II: Vol. 9 , Article 9. Available at: http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/historical-perspectives/vol9/iss1/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History, Series II by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Martinez: The San Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979 The White Night Riots 31 32 Historical Perspectives March 2004 The San Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979 Schmidt’s combination of psychological and moral arguments led the jury to a verdict of double manslaughter instead of the much anticipated double first degree murder. White was sentenced to eight years in prison.5 Bruce Martinez The night the verdict was read there was a large scale riot within the gay community. By the late 1970s the gay population The morning of November 27, 1978 was a quiet one in San in San Francisco was estimated at close to 150,000. This commu- Francisco. The quiet was soon shattered as a devastating story nity historically had been large in San Francisco because the city broke throughout the city. There had been a double murder in city had become a dumping point for men rejected from the armed hall, and both the mayor and a supervisor had been assassinated. services for homosexuality in World War Two. A march on city The police soon announced the suspect was Dan White, a former hall turned violent with over one hundred injuries reported, twelve supervisor, police officer and fireman. Mayor George Moscone police cars burned, and nearly one million dollars in damage done and supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to to city hall and the largely gay Castro neighborhood.6 public office in the United States, were the victims.1 The perceived absurdity of the verdict triggered the riots, but White was soon apprehended, and the city entered a difficult there were several other factors that also lead to the disturbance. trial period that in many ways tore the city in two. Milk and Conventional wisdom, which states that the largely peaceful gay Moscone represented liberal San Francisco; Milk was the most community had a spontaneous evening of anger, misses the prominent gay leader in the city, and Moscone had time and again multiple reasons behind the riot. There were major political and sided with liberal causes.2 White represented the conservative social forces that came to a boiling point that evening. The forces within the city, specifically the police department and writings on the murders, the trial, and on Milk and Moscone members of the working class.3 largely gloss over the complex reasons for the riots, seemingly White’s defense centered on psychological and moral argu- ignoring the historical evidence that suggests a deeper reason for ment and ultimately it was argued that he was of a diminished what happened. capacity at the time of the murders. In addition to this, White was The riots on the evening of May 21, 1979 occurred both as a portrayed as an honest decent man who was incapable of cold reaction to the verdict in the Dan White double homicide case and blooded first degree murder. This is best seen in Douglas also because the murder of mayor George Moscone changed the Schmidt’s opening arguments: “Good people, fine people, with balance of power within the city’s police force. Earlier gay rights fine backgrounds, simply don’t kill people in cold blood.”4 marches and vigils had been held without police intervention and violence. What made this night different were three things: Police 1Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street, The Life and Times of Harvey Chief Charles Gain had lost control of his rank and file officers Milk (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982), 263-267. following Moscone’s death, there had been an upswing in violence 2Richard DeLeon, Left Coast City, Progressive Politics in San Francisco, 1975-1991 (Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1992), 48-51. 3 5 Mike Weiss, Double Play, The San Francisco City Hall Killings (Reading, Shilts, 325. Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1984), 91-101. 6 Maitland Zane, “Battle’s Debris At Civic Center,” San Francisco 4 Shilts, 310. Chronicle, 22 February 1979, sec. A, final edition. Published by Scholar Commons, 2004 1 Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History, Series II, Vol. 9 [2004], Art. 9 The White Night Riots 31 32 Historical Perspectives March 2004 The San Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979 Schmidt’s combination of psychological and moral arguments led the jury to a verdict of double manslaughter instead of the much anticipated double first degree murder. White was sentenced to eight years in prison.5 Bruce Martinez The night the verdict was read there was a large scale riot within the gay community. By the late 1970s the gay population The morning of November 27, 1978 was a quiet one in San in San Francisco was estimated at close to 150,000. This commu- Francisco. The quiet was soon shattered as a devastating story nity historically had been large in San Francisco because the city broke throughout the city. There had been a double murder in city had become a dumping point for men rejected from the armed hall, and both the mayor and a supervisor had been assassinated. services for homosexuality in World War Two. A march on city The police soon announced the suspect was Dan White, a former hall turned violent with over one hundred injuries reported, twelve supervisor, police officer and fireman. Mayor George Moscone police cars burned, and nearly one million dollars in damage done and supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to to city hall and the largely gay Castro neighborhood.6 public office in the United States, were the victims.1 The perceived absurdity of the verdict triggered the riots, but White was soon apprehended, and the city entered a difficult there were several other factors that also lead to the disturbance. trial period that in many ways tore the city in two. Milk and Conventional wisdom, which states that the largely peaceful gay Moscone represented liberal San Francisco; Milk was the most community had a spontaneous evening of anger, misses the prominent gay leader in the city, and Moscone had time and again multiple reasons behind the riot. There were major political and sided with liberal causes.2 White represented the conservative social forces that came to a boiling point that evening. The forces within the city, specifically the police department and writings on the murders, the trial, and on Milk and Moscone members of the working class.3 largely gloss over the complex reasons for the riots, seemingly White’s defense centered on psychological and moral argu- ignoring the historical evidence that suggests a deeper reason for ment and ultimately it was argued that he was of a diminished what happened. capacity at the time of the murders. In addition to this, White was The riots on the evening of May 21, 1979 occurred both as a portrayed as an honest decent man who was incapable of cold reaction to the verdict in the Dan White double homicide case and blooded first degree murder. This is best seen in Douglas also because the murder of mayor George Moscone changed the Schmidt’s opening arguments: “Good people, fine people, with balance of power within the city’s police force. Earlier gay rights fine backgrounds, simply don’t kill people in cold blood.”4 marches and vigils had been held without police intervention and violence. What made this night different were three things: Police 1Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street, The Life and Times of Harvey Chief Charles Gain had lost control of his rank and file officers Milk (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982), 263-267. following Moscone’s death, there had been an upswing in violence 2Richard DeLeon, Left Coast City, Progressive Politics in San Francisco, 1975-1991 (Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1992), 48-51. 3 5 Mike Weiss, Double Play, The San Francisco City Hall Killings (Reading, Shilts, 325. Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1984), 91-101. 6 Maitland Zane, “Battle’s Debris At Civic Center,” San Francisco 4 Shilts, 310. Chronicle, 22 February 1979, sec. A, final edition. http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/historical-perspectives/vol9/iss1/9 2 Martinez: The San Francisco “White Night” Riots of 1979 The White Night Riots 33 34 Historical Perspectives March 2004 and harassment against the gay community in the time since the are impossible to pass. When the Police Athletic League circus city hall murders, and Harvey Milk was not available to keep the empties the sidewalks are chaos. These cases are fine. Yet when peace within the gay community as he had during earlier marches. the gays leave the bars at the 2 a.m. closing time, we find that One reason for the violence during the riot was the beleaguered some of our police object to it and make arrests for blocking the San Francisco police department.