Thirty-five years ago today, City Supervisor Dan White climbed through a window into San Francisco City Hall, entered the office of Mayor George Moscone and shot and killed him. He then walked down a corridor to the office of fellow-Supervisor Harvey Milk, and shot and killed him as well.
Residents were stunned, as well as activists in the Castro district, who helped elect the country’s first openly gay public official.
Cleve Jones was by the side of Harvey Milk throughout much of his quest for gay rights, as a student intern in his office. He later co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and also conceived the AIDS Memorial Quilt project that humanized the disease that spread like wildfire through the gay community.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with Jones on the anniversary of Milk’s death, to discuss the issues still facing San Francisco residents and gay people around the world. Jones organized a march tonight on San Francisco City Hall to draw attention to the city’s housing crisis.