An Historical Time Line
(Written by the Ghost of Joe Friday and Ladyjustice)
Who: Born: Harvey Bernard Milk
What: Son of Lithuanian, Jewish immigrants
Where: Woodmere, New York
When: May 22, 1930
Why: Because…. “They birthed babies back then”
Who: Born: Daniel James White
What: Son of Irish American Parents
Where: Los Angeles County
When: September 2, 1946
Why: Because… “They birthed babies back then”
Who: Harvey as Teacher and Naval Officer
What: Chief Petty Officer
Where: Submarine Rescue Ship, Junior Lieutenant
When: Korean War (1950-1953)
Why: Because…. “He joined up”
Who: Dan as Student & Valedictorian
What: Attended two high schools, Expelled from Riordian High
for “violence”
Where: San Francisco, California
When: Army Career 1965-1972
Why: Why not???
Who: Harvey as closeted gay man
What: Ex-teacher, Became Investment, Financial Advisor &
Theater Aficionado
Where: Bache & Company, New York;
When: 1963
Why: Talent for Finance; Partner was a theater director
Who: Dan as Public Safety Officer & “Boy Wonder”
Saved mother & baby from 7th Floor Apartment; Reported
Cop for beating a suspect; Quit police force;
What: Police Officer, Firefighter, Security Guard;
Where: Anchorage, Alaska; San Francisco, CA
When: 1965-1972
Why: “Trying to find his niche”
Who: Harvey as Hippie, Non-Conformist
What: Burned his Bank of America Card; Fired from Job;
Opened a Camera Shop in Castro section, San Francisco
Where: New York & San Francisco
When: After invasion of Cambodia ~ 1970-1973
Why: Political, Business views were changing
Who: Harvey as Budding Politician, Activist
What: “The Mayor of Castro Street”; Newspaper Columnist;
Several Attempts at Municipal Office: State Assembly &
Board of Supervisors (City Council);
*** Made History as the First Openly Gay Elected Official
Where: The Castro, San Francisco, CA
When: 1973, 1975; 1977
Why: Building Momentum for Gay Rights & Other Minorities;
Who: Dan: As Family Man
What: “The Blank Period;” Married Mary Ann Burns
Nothing else notable …
Where: San Francisco, CA
When: 1976
Why: Everybody Needs Somebody….
Who: Harvey as City Supervisor
What: Legislator of Gay Rights- Anti-discrimination in
Housing, Employment, Teaching and Increasing the
GLBT Police Force
Where: San Francisco City Hall
When: 1977 to November 27, 1978
Why: He was a leader with a vision for change and equal
rights for all… He was a representative of the people.
Who: Dan as elected official on the Board of Supervisors
What: SF Police Union, Board of Realtors supported Dan’s
Election, financed it and shared his perception of the City was “soft on crime,” shared his conservative views on religion, civil rights, prostitution intolerance of homosexuality
Where: Southeastern District of San Francisco: District 8,
“the Working Class District”
When: 1977
Why: They needed someone to represent “the other side.”
Dan nicknamed the epitome of “white bread”
Who/What: “The Juice,” Anita Bryant: Born-again singer campaigns to overturn an anti-discrimination law protecting gay men and lesbians in Dade County, Fla. Inspired by her victory, Bryant founds the first national anti-gay group, Save Our Children, drawing unprecedented attention to gay issues and motivating gay groups to organize in response.
Who/What: James Dobson, author of 1969 pro-spanking book Dare To Discipline, founds Focus on the Family in Arcadia, Calif. Focus will move to Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1991, become America’s wealthiest fundamentalist ministry, and spearhead the campaign against gay marriage.
Where: Dade County Fl; Colorado Springs CO; Arcadia, California and later in San Francisco…
When: 1977 (The Thirty Years War- A timeline of the anti-gay movement) Southern Poverty Lew Center http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/the-thirty-years-war
Why: “Because they could…..”
Who: Harvey as revered activist and frequent sparing partner
With other Board Supervisors
What: *** Achieved National Recognition in defeating Senate
proposal Proposition 6 of California to fire gay teachers
or their supporters
Where: San Francisco City Hall
When: Early 1978
Why: His star was rising….
Who: “Dan the Man” who quit and then changed his mind-
“Too Late…. “
What: “Too Little Salary” ($9,600/year- part-time) Couldn’t
support his family… couldn’t deal with the changing
ethics… Recipe for mass murder….
Where: Mayor George Mascone’s office
When: Late 1978
Why: Chief of Police, Board of Realtors, Supervisor, Diane
Feinstein convinces Dan to withdraw his resignation
and appeal to Mayor Mascone for the return to his job
WHY, WHY, WHY??? REVERSAL OF DECISIONS =
DEAD BODIES…
Dan reversed his decision to resign as a consequence of offers for financial help and political influence
Mayor George Mascone was “inclined to give Dan his job once again.” But, but, but… Harvey reminded George that of all the conservative proposals that had been defeated due to the 6 to 5 conservative majority. Harvey used his personal agenda to remind the Mayor that Dan “was the only actively gay staff person on the Board of Supervisors. As George was up for re-election the next year and dependent on the gay community for votes, Mayor Mascone made the fateful decision to deny Dan’s re-appointment. It turned out to be fatal….
Who: George Mascone: Former County Supervisor, State
Senator and Mayor of San Francisco
What: Origin: “Wrong side of the tracks” who did well in school
and became a champion of minorities including the elderly,
the working class, the poor, blacks and the GLBT community.
Attended Hastings Law School on a basketball scholarship…
and then was invited to enter the political arena.
Where: San Francisco, California
When Born: November 24, 1929; Died November 27, 1978
(‘Just 3 days after his 49th birthday)
Who: Dan as depressed, dejected, ex-City Supervisor,
“White bread” family man unable to support his brood
What: Dan entered an open basement window. (Thus avoiding
Metal detectors at the city Hall’s entrances)
He went to Mayor Mascone’s office first – shooting him in the
chest and then in the head as George lay dying on the floor…
Dan re-loaded, walked to the other end of the building,
Asked for a private meeting with Harvey whereby he shot
him twice in the brain
Dan walked out calmly, called his wife, met her at St. Mary’s
Cathedral and then turned himself in to police
Where: at the Northern Station.
Why: “I really lost it that day… I was on a mission.
I wanted four of them” (Confession to former Homicide
Detective Frank Falcon in 1984)
Who: Dan as Defendant
What: “Diminished Capacity due to Depression” Change in diet was
Evidence of his depression –
*** Forever known as: “THE TWINKIE DEFENSE”
Plea deal and conviction down to voluntary manslaughter
Seven years reduced to five with “good time”
Total Outrage by the GLBT Community
When: May 21, 1979 White Night Riots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unu-9vM9VZw (Milk Trailer)
What-Again: Suicide-carbon monoxide poisoning by Dan
in his car
When Again- October 21, 1985
Why: A very troubled man saw no reason to carry on
If only Harvey was alive today…
Post Script: CHANGE IN CALIFORNIA LAW: After the jury convicted White of voluntary manslaughter — the least serious charge for homicide. This caused uproar against the diminished capacity plea in California, and in 1982, voters overwhelmingly approved a proposition to eliminate the defense.
See: 1981 CAL. STAT. ch. 404, effective January 1, 1982. See: 1982 CAL. STAT. ch. 893, effective January 1, 1983. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/danwhitelinks.html
Donna R. Gore 