White Night Riots

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The White Night Riots, beginning on May 21, 1979, comprised two events: The first was the San Francisco, California, gay community's response to the minimal sentence given to former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White for killing George Moscone (then Mayor of San Francisco) and Harvey Milk (an openly gay supervisor of San Francisco), in November 1978. It began as a peaceful but angry march from the Castro District to City Hall, but turned into a riot after it reached its destination. Observers were surprised that a group of gay men, supposed to be "sissies," could be so aggressive. The riot resulted in significant property damage, including broken windows and glass doors on the City Hall and the torching of twelve San Francisco police cruisers, but no deaths and few injuries.

By coincidence, a P. D. Q. Bach concert took place the same evening in the Opera House, which is across the street from the City Hall. Well-dressed concert-goers walked out of the Opera House into the middle of the riot.

The second of the riots was a police riot. Later that night, after order was restored downtown, a number of SFPD cars headed into the Castro District. Police marched into bars, smashed fixtures, and beat patrons with clubs. Most of the assault victims had not taken part in the earlier rioting downtown.