PlinyTheOlder, 
Historian Gerard Koskovich posted this flier and post today, the 45th anniversary of the White Night Riots in San Francisco.
gkoskovich Forty-five years ago today, Dan White was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder for the assassinations of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk (1930-1978), the first openly gay elected official in California, and progressive Mayor George Moscone (1929-1978). White was given a sentence of just seven years in prison. In response, thousands marched from the gay Castro neighborhood to San Francisco City Hall, where a riot broke out. Protesters smashed all the windows on the ground floor of the monumental beaux-arts building, torched a dozen police cars parked at one side of Civic Center Plaza and carried on an hours-long running battle with the police. Supervisor Harry Britt (1938-2020), named to replace Harvey Milk on the Board of Supervisors, refused to condemn the rioters. Interviewed by a local television station, he stated bluntly, "We're reacting with anger because we are angry."
The graphic shows a detail of a flyer from the archives of the GLBT Historical Society (@glbt_history) which was produced by the committee that raised funds for the legal defense of protesters arrested during the uprising. In classic queer form, it mixes righteous rage with fabulous wit to expose injustice: "Oh, beautiful, for sissy power that cannot be contained. / We fought at Stonewall decked in drag, we want more fruited plains. / America, America, gays are oppressed by thee. / When called to fight, we'll do it right, with no apology!" Be sure to note the names of the colors for the color-by-number illustration of a burning cop car. Keep in mind that "amazon" in 1979 referred to the feminist recuperation of the Greek legend of women warriors, not to the late-capitalist corporate behemoth. If only we had this set of crayons handy for daily use. #gbt #gbtq #gay #queer #Igbthistory #gayhistory #queerhistory #harveymilk #riot
