We are disappointed that the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District board voted last month to omit Dan White's name from a sidewalk etching that will be part of the Castro History Walk. The CBD board is paying $10,000 to have 20 historical facts about the neighborhood etched into the sidewalk as an addition to the city's multimillion dollar sidewalk widening project. White, as most readers know, is the disgruntled ex-supervisor who gunned down Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in November 1978. A jury found White guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a much lesser charge than the original one of first-degree murder. The verdict set off the White Night riots in which police cars were burned and other property was damaged. Police retaliated in full riot gear, beating pedestrians as they swept down Castro Street, and ransacking the Elephant Walk bar.
This is San Francisco's history; this is LGBT history. One of the first questions on most people's minds when they read the etching will be: Who killed Milk? The CBD created the history walk project in part to engage and educate tourists visiting the Castro. Longtime city residents already know the story of Milk's life and tragic death; the point of the sidewalk etchings is to make that history more accessible to visitors and younger residents, as well as people new to the area.
Omitting White's name is erasing history. We think the community is mature enough to face the fact that White killed Milk – and see it etched in the sidewalk. We think visitors are, too. This was not just a murder case, it was a political assassination carried out by a former city supervisor against a colleague and the mayor. Our history is rife with incidents of gay-bashing, blatant discrimination, physical violence at the hands of law enforcement, arson – the list goes on. Do we really want to be a society that edits out uncomfortable facts of history? No. We learn from history and we grow from it. Laws are enacted in response to such incidents. Culture changes. There must be context to those advancements if we are to have an accurate accounting of our past. A project that willfully omits the name associated with an important historic moment in San Francisco – and the LGBT community – is doing the public and history a disservice.
In recent years, the rising incidence of mass shootings has moved some journalists and grieving family members not to name the perpetrator. Some media outlets – mostly on TV – have adopted this policy. (We accepted today's Guest Opinion from the uncle of one of the Isla Vista victims who declined to name the shooter.) Generally, we don't think this trend serves the public interest. With information instantly available it's impossible to keep the name of the killer anonymous.
We talked about all this recently with Andrea Aiello, executive director of the CBD. We wondered if the board's May 8 decision could be revisited. She indicated that the text for the approved etchings was already on its way to the various city departments and headed for stenciling. Moreover, she explained, the discussion was thorough and exhausting for many board members and she did not think they would want to revisit it.
Fair enough. But what about mitigating White's omission? We suggested that anyone with questions about the Milk entries could probably head down to the GLBT History Museum. Then Aiello mentioned that the CBD was likely going to have a website associated with the history walk that would include more facts and information. There are only 20 entries in the planned history walk. Many more facts and other historical tidbits were identified by people during the CBD's process, including those highlighting people of color and transgender people – other histories that are largely missing from the etchings. Some were more anecdotal than factual. Some conjured up fond memories for people of a certain age, but weren't necessarily of historical significance, Aiello said. How to alert people to the site was another puzzle. The Bay Area Reporter suggested a QR code be placed at the beginning and end of the timeline so people could access the website with their smartphones. Aiello was enthused with that idea and said she would reach out to city officials about implementing it. And, she said, White's name would be included on the website factoid about Milk.
We think that's a good compromise given the circumstances. But next time a similar history project is proposed, those tasked with determining our history should not erase one of its central characters. We should be brave enough to embrace a full accounting of our history.