Monday morning, November 27th, 1978, approximately 8:45 AM to 9:15 AM, San Francisco Mayor
George Moscone and Board of Supervisors Supervisor
Harvey Milk were assassinated by Milk's former fellow Supervisor
Dan White. Underlying the assassinations were White's social conservatism, Milk's open homosexuality (Milk being the first openly gay elected official in the United States), and Moscone's support of Milk. Friends and supporters (some of whom were homophobic before meeting Milk) speak of Milk's life as a social crusader in the Castro District, a want-to-be politician, and his astuteness as an elected official in the position of what most would consider a political outsider. Although Milk fought for gay rights, he also worked toward general human rights. His biggest political battle was fighting against Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Proposition, which would have restricted the rights of openly gay teachers in California. This fight seemed to be a losing battle in an era when gay rights were being repealed across the U.S. A more complete story of White, the reasons for the assassinations, and the public response to the verdict in his murder trial also are presented.
—Huggo