A City In Agony, A Cause In Gratitude

On November 27th, 1978, San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were shot and killed by former Supervisor Dan White within the San Francisco City Hall. Up and to this point, Milk was already gaining recognition as a power player in not only San Francisco politics, but gay rights activism as well. As such, his death left behind a legacy that still empowers civil rights in America to this day.
Harvey Bernard Milk became the first openly gay non-incumbent man in the United States to win an election for public office. More importantly, he was instrumental in defeating The Brigg’s Initiative in California, which, if voted in, would have banned all gays and lesbians from working in California public schools.
Milk also sponsored and helped pass a strong anti-discrimination ordinance within San Francisco that extended to homosexuals. The ordinance was called the “most stringent and encompassing in the nation”, and its passing demonstrated “the growing political power of homosexuals”, according to The New York Times. (Ledbetter, 1978)
Not to say that Milk was only a hero for the gays. During his tenure, he also created the famous “pooper scooper law”, which required dog owners to pick up after their pets. His determination to get attention over this event was extensive, as press conference that he held over the issue got national attention. Because of this and other political dealings of Milk, Anne Kronenberg, his campaign manager, called him “a master at figuring out what would get him covered in the newspaper”. (Epstein, 1984)
He also used his political flair promoting better and less expensive child care facilities, free public transportation, and the development of a board of civilians to oversee the police. (Charles Scribner, 1995)
Harvey Milk knew what people wanted from their leaders while also playing the political game with aplomb and loving care. So it’s no surprise that his tragic death would create “a city in agony”, according to the San Francisco Examiner’s dramatic headline the day after his murder.
To say that Milk alone led to the phenomenon behind the rising gay rights movement and its reaction his death would be inaccurate. Surrounding every great man are the circumstances and cultural musings influencing him and his rise to prominence. Milk merely helped lead a preexisting charge toward more freedom for gays within the San Francisco city limits, and, by extension, the country.
“What San Francisco is today, and what it is becoming, reflects both the energy and organization of the gay community and its developing effort toward integration in the political processes of the American city best known for innovation in life styles.” (Herbert, 1977)
Former Supervisor Dan White, on that fateful November morning, murdered Mayor Moscone then Milk over political frustration. White had been refused a reelection to his position by Moscone after the former resigned. Milk had campaigned against the reelection as well, which infuriated White and further widened the political chasm between the two.
President of the Board of Supervisors Dianne Feinstein was the first to discover Milk dead, and also the one to break the news to a distraught public. She had been shaking so badly after the discovery that she required support from the police chief. (Flintwick, 1978). “As President of the Board of Supervisors, it’s my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed. The suspect is Supervisor Dan White.”
Very soon after the killings, White was caught and charged with two counts of murder and held without bail. Coincidently, he was eligible for the death penalty due to a recent passing of a statewide proposition that allowed death for the murder of a public official. (San Francisco Examiner, 1978)
Despite the evidence and public outrage facing White, he was given a relative slap on the wrist as a punishment at the end of the trial. He was acquitted of first degree murder charges. Instead, the killer was sentenced to eight years for two counts of voluntary manslaughter. With the sentence reduced for time served and good behavior, he would be released in five.
With the decision, the reaction was imminent. A swelling of people from the Castro District marched to City Hall, chanting “Avenge Harvey Milk” and “He got away with murder”. (Epstein, 1984). A mob that, at its peak, reached a staggering 3,000 people and threw rocks at City Hall as well as setting government cars ablaze. The attempts of Milk’s allies to quell the outrage went unheeded.
Once the night was over, 161 rioters and police officers had been hospitalized. Over one million dollars in damages were caused to government and civilian buildings as well as vehicles.
Despite the significance of the violence, it forever pales in comparison to the legacy that Milk’s beautiful work brought to this country. His achievements seem to bring a stark contrast to the rest of the gay rights movement, as no other individual within the cause has reached his icon status.
“No contemporary American gay leader has yet to achieve in life the stature Milk found in death,” Historian Neil Miller once asserted. (Miller, 1994)
Partly because of this, it seems that his legacy has become unclear in the light of the lack of a real contemporary.
Biographer Randy Shilts believes that Milk’s rise and fall is “a metaphor for the homosexual experience in America.” (Shilts, 1982) So, looking at it in another light, it would seem that Milk’s influence is more of the societal and cultural than the political.
Historian John D’Emilio seems to concur with this theory. “The legacy that I think he would want to be remembered for is the imperative to live one’s life at all times with integrity.” (Cloud, 1998)
Indeed, the media attention that followed the story of Milk after his death has been substantial. An Academy Award winning documentary as well as an acclaimed feature film were made about the man.
He has also been listed in several lists of the most influential Americans as well as gay rights personnel that have changed the face of the cause forever.
The Advocate listed Milk third in their “40 Heroes” of the 20th century issue, quoting the seemingly ever-present Dianne Feinstein in their write-up.
“His homosexuality gave him an insight into the scars which all oppressed people wear. He believed that no sacrifice was too great a price to pay for the cause of human rights.” (The Advocate, 2007)
And that sacrifice, for him, was the ultimate one. Few know this better that Harvey Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk, who was the one to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama during 2009 in his deceased uncle’s place. Stuart also wrote an essay about Harvey, commenting on how he impacted his life and the lives of millions of people all across the country.
“I came out the night Harvey was killed. Coming out was still extremely rare back then, yet I would be joined by thousands of other LGBT people across the nation who read about and heard the prophetic message my uncle included in one of the political wills he recorded before his assassination: ‘If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.’” (Milk, 2011)

Works Cited
Ledbetter, Les (March 22, 1978). “Bill on Homosexual Rights Advances in San Francisco”, The New York Times, p. A21.
The Times of Harvey Milk. Dir. Rob Epstein. DVD, Pacific Arts, 1984.
Gold, Herbert (November 6, 1977), “A Walk on San Francisco’s Gay Side”, The New York Times, p. SM17.
“Harvey Bernard Milk.” Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 10: 1976–1980. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995.
Flintwick, James (November 28, 1978). “Aide: White ‘A Wild Man’”, The San Francisco Examiner, p. 1.
“No Bail as D.A. Cites New Law”, The San Francisco Examiner (November 28, 1978), p. 1.
Miller, Neil (1994) Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present, Vintage Books, p. 408
Shilts, Randy (1982). The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, St. Martin’s Press, p. 348
Cloud, John (November 10, 1998). “Why Milk is Still Fresh: Twenty Years After his Assassination, Harvey Milk Still Has a Lot to Offer the Gay Life”, The Advocate, (772) p. 29.
40 Heroes, The Advocate (September 25, 2007), Issue 993.
Milk, Stuart (2011). Harvey’s Enduring Legacy, The Criterion Collection, p. 16

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