On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a disgruntled former city supervisor, assassinated both Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Milk was always keenly aware that there was a strong likelihood he could be assassinated. In fact, he penned numerous versions of his will “to be read in the event of my assassination”. Dan White had previously resigned from his position as supervisor due to the low salary of $9,000. A few days following the resignation, White approached then Mayor to rejoin the Board of Supervisors. It was eventually decided that White was not left-leaning enough for the way politics were going in San Francisco and was denied. It was because of this that he snuck into city hall and assassinated both Milk and Moscone. During his trial, rather than a murder verdict, White got 8 years for manslaughter in what was coined by city newspapers at the time as the “Twinkie defense”. That is, White’s lawyer argued that “his mental health deterioration was demonstrated and exacerbated by a junk food binge the night before the murders, since he was usually known to have been health food-conscious”.
Today, we at CTI remember the life and work of Harvey Milk. Milk spoke for the participation of LGBTQ+ people and other minorities in the political process and believed that government should represent the individuals, not just downtown interests. He believed that same government should provide and insure equality for all citizens along with needed services.
“None understood how his public role could affect private lives better than Milk… he knew that the root cause of the gay predicament was invisibility” –John Cloud.
“No matter what the world has taught us about ourselves, we can be beautiful and we can get our thing together… Harvey was a prophet… He lived by a vision… Something very special is going to happen in this city and it will have Harvey Milk’s name on it” - Harry Britt
#DEIatCTI #harveymilk #harveymilkday #equality #pride #lgbtqcommunity #lgbtqrights
Please watch:
Pat Rocco: Harvey Milk speech in Los Angeles (1978) video length: 3min
Give Them Hope - Harvey Milk video length: 2min
Moscone-Milk Killings 25th Anniversary: Milk and Moscone - Assassination at City Hall. (KRON-TV) video length: 48 min