Two weeks ago, I covered the 45-year anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, which occurred on the date [Saturday,] November 18, 1978. This massacre ended the lives of a visiting member of the United States House of Representatives, Leo Ryan, and more than 900 other individuals and members of The People’s Temple. They were murdered by Reverend Jim Jones.
This week has a connection to that history.
Nine days later, on Monday, November 27, 1978—the calendar was the same in 1978 as it is here in 2023—San Francisco, California, which was the home city for The People’s Temple, was rocked again.
Former City Hall supervisor Dan White (born September 2, 1946), who resigned his elected position (and wanted it back), accessed the building through a basement window. He approached 49-year-old mayor George Moscone (born November 24, 1929) and assassinated him. Afterward, White approached 48-year-old supervisor Harvey Milk (born May 22, 1930) and also assassinated him.
Dan White, after a phone call with his wife, surrendered. While on trial, his defense attorney made an argument which became known as “The Twinkie Defense.” White, who was convicted of manslaughter and served five years on a seven-year sentence, was paroled January 7, 1984. He returned to his wife and their home, in San Francisco, and committed suicide at age 39 on October 21, 1985.
This horrible history catapulted Dianne Feinstein to higher office. Born June 22, 1933, then-45-year-old Feinstein was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Just after the assassination of Moscone, she became the city’s acting mayor. (She ran for mayor against Moscone, and lost to him, in 1975. Milk and White were elected in 1977.) Feinstein won a full-term election in 1979 and re-election in 1983. She was the Democratic Party’s 1990 nominee for Governor of California, did not win, but prevailed with her first term for U.S. Senate in 1992. Feinstein, the longest-serving female member in the history of the United States Senate, died at age 90 on September 29, 2023.
The life of George Moscone has not really been given much attention over the years. He was known as a mayor with a progressive vision for change. Harvey Milk, more obviously, was known for being an important and leading activist for rights for persons who are among the community of LGBT. A documentary about him, The Times of Harvey Milk, won the 1984 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The 2008 film Milk—released 30 years after these assassinations—was directed by fellow LGBT Gus Van Sant. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor Josh Brolin (for playing Dan White). It won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay Dustin Lance Black and, in his second win (for portraying Harvey Milk), Best Actor Sean Penn.
I recommend the following reading and videos:
• Wikipedia — ‘Milk–Moscone assassinations’
• Wikipedia — Dianne Feinstein
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