1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,239 Speaker 1: Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: in history today. With that said, on with the show, 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to this day in History class where history waits 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:24,440 Speaker 1: for no one. The day was May one, nineteen seventy nine, 5 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: in the aftermath of the sentencing of Dan White, who 6 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Muscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk, 7 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: riots erupted in the city. Milk was a gay rights activists. 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: Musconi had lobbied against White's reappointment as a member of 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: the Board of Supervisors, and he had a lot of 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: support in the gay community. White was convicted of voluntary 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: manslaughter rather than first degree murder. After the verdict was 12 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: released on protesters and police went head to head in 13 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: a night of chaos. Day and White, a former police 14 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: officer and firefighter, was a member of the Board of 15 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: Supervisors alongside Harvey Milk. While Milk was a supervisor, he 16 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: advocated for gay rights and small business owners. Milk and 17 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: White were on good terms at first personally and politically, 18 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: but their relationship went downhill when Milk voted for a 19 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: zoning bill that White opposed. After Milk implied that he 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: was on White side. After that, White was the only 21 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: person to vote against a city ordinance banning discrimination based 22 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: on sexual orientation that Milk pushed through. He began pushing 23 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: back against Milk's efforts. White began rarely showing up to 24 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,199 Speaker 1: his office at City Hall, and his family was finding 25 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: it hard to make ends meat and had opened a 26 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: new snack food business. At the same time, Milk was 27 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: enjoying a lot of success in legislation he was sponsoring 28 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: and getting positive press attention. In November nineteen seventy eight, 29 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: White resigned from the board, saying he was not making 30 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: enough money as a supervisor to support his family. But 31 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: when White decided to come back days later, Mausconi did 32 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: not reappoint him, with Milk lobbying against White's reappointment. On November, 33 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: White went into City Hall with a thirty eight revolver 34 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: to avoid a weapon search. He entered the building through 35 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: a side door. Masconi's assistant let White into Mousconi's office, 36 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: where White shot the mayor four times. White then walked 37 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: down the hall and asked Milk if they could talk, 38 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: and White shot him five times. Diane Feinstein, who was 39 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: then president of the Board of Supervisors, announced the deaths 40 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: on the steps of city Hall. White was apprehended not 41 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: long after the murders. Months later, White went to child 42 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: During the child White's attorney mounted what became known as 43 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: a in key defense, arguing that White had diminished capacity 44 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: due to depression and the loss of his job, as 45 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: evidenced by the excessive amounts of junk food he was 46 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: eating in the weeks leading up to the crime. The jury, 47 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:18,519 Speaker 1: made up mostly of conservatives, was sympathetic to White. One 48 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, he was found guilty of the voluntary 49 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: manslaughter of Masconi and Milk. He was sentenced to seven 50 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: years and eight months in prison, with the chance to 51 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: be released earlier with good behavior. When the verdict was announced, 52 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: the gay community, which was large in San Francisco, marched 53 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: in protest, but a peaceful march to City Hall turned 54 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: violent as the crowd grew larger. Many people believed the 55 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: police were instrumental and white light sentencing. Officers beat protesters 56 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: with nightsticks. Protesters set police cars on fire and destroyed 57 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: parts of City Hall. After about three hours of riding, 58 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: officers quailed the commotion with your gas. About fifty officers 59 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: and a hundred and twenty four protesters were injured. About 60 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: two dozen people were arrested. Police harassment of gay people 61 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: in San Francisco and in tolerance of gay people in 62 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: the police force were already a part of the city's culture, 63 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: but tensions between police and the gay community grew after 64 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: the trial and riots. The day after the riots, city 65 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: Supervisor Harry Britt, who had replaced Milk, said the following 66 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: Harvey Milks people do not have anything to apologize for now. 67 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: The society is going to have to deal with us, 68 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: not as nice little fairies who have hair dressing salons, 69 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: but as people capable of violence. We're not going to 70 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: put up with damn lights anymore. May would have been 71 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: milks forty nine birthday, a rally plan for that night 72 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: turned into a celebration of milks life. I'm each Jeffcoat 73 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 74 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. Feel free to leave a very 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: kind comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. At T d 76 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: i h C Podcast, thanks for joining me on this 77 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: trip through time. See you here in the exact same 78 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: spot tomorrow. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to the 79 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: Stand History Class, a podcast that brings you a little 80 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: slice of history every single day. The day was made 81 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:44,359 Speaker 1: one nineteen seventeen, a fire tour through the city of Atlanta, 82 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:49,799 Speaker 1: displacing around ten thousand people and destroying nearly two thousand buildings. 83 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: The fire cost more destruction than William To come to 84 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: Sherman's capture of Atlanta in eighteen sixty four. That morning, 85 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,799 Speaker 1: the fire departs men had gotten calls about a series 86 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: of small fires. A fire was reported at a cotton 87 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: warehouse downtown. Firefighters also showed up to put out a 88 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: fire on Woodward Avenue that destroyed several homes. There was 89 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: also a fire in the West End. That afternoon. Another 90 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 1: fire began in a warehouse north of Decatur Street that 91 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: Grady Hospital was using as a storage facility. When the 92 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: firefighters got to the scene, they found stacks of cotton 93 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: mattresses on fire, but they didn't have the hoses they 94 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: needed to get water to the fire. Their resources were 95 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: spread thin because of all of the other fires that 96 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: took place that day. The big fire that ended up 97 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: causing millions of dollars of damage started around twelve forty 98 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: six pm. It's unclear exactly how the fire started. It 99 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: may have begun when the wind blew sparks from the 100 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: fire on Woodward Avenue to the warehouse, but the fire 101 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: quickly spread north as wind provided the fire with more fuel. 102 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: In two weeks of dry weather made Atlanta's wood shingled 103 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: homes extremely susceptible to fire. On top of that, people 104 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: who volunteered to help weren't given adequate guidance. Also, there 105 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: was not a telephone line open for the sole use 106 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: of the fire department, and the firefighters needed more hoses 107 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: and fire hydrants, and they had to take roundabout ways 108 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: to get to some fires because of poor road conditions 109 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: on Boulevard. Parts of the street itself burned because some 110 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: of it was paved with woodblock. Fire Chief William Cody 111 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: decided to dynamite some homes in the path of the 112 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: fire to stop it from spreading. Mayor Asa Candler went 113 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: to the du Pont Powder Company to get crates of 114 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: dynamite and explosive experts set about exploding homes. Candler also 115 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: called for military assistance. Martial law was declared that evening 116 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: and lasted until May. Other cities inside and outside of 117 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: Georgia sent firefighters to help fight the blaze. The fire 118 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: wasn't completely extinguished until ten o'clock that night. It had 119 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: burned around three hundred acres and caused about five million 120 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: dollars of damage, which is about one million dollars in 121 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: The fire continued to smolder in places, and people who 122 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: lost their housing stayed in Piedmont Park, vacant lots, churches, 123 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: in hotel lobbies. Others were able to stay with their families. 124 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: Only one person reportedly died from the fire when she 125 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: had a heart attack while her home was being destroyed. 126 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 1: Around sixty people went to the hospital for fire related injuries. 127 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: Since the US had just entered World War One, rumor 128 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: spread that the fire was an act of German sabotage. 129 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: Because the Fourth Ward was hit hard by the fire, 130 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: many of the residents affected were black. Some of the 131 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: articles published in the aftermath of the fire downplayed its 132 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 1: impact on residents, and city planners were reported as touting 133 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: the fire as a benefit to Atlanta. Press coverage and 134 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: the devastation the fire caused in the Fourth Ward highlighted 135 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: the racism prevalent in the city and the racial disparities 136 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:11,479 Speaker 1: in urban planning and housing. Local stores, companies, churches, colleges, 137 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: and newspapers pledged to make donations to help victims of 138 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: the fire. Black leaders organized aid for people affected by 139 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: the fire. Throughout the summer, people drew up plans for 140 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: rebuilding the city. Single family homes were replaced with apartment 141 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,959 Speaker 1: buildings and commercial sites. The Atlanta City Council announced that 142 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: it would enforce an ordinance it had postponed enforcing that 143 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: mandated fire resistant roofing. The Great Atlanta Fire of nineteen 144 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: seventeen up ended the lives of many of the Fourth 145 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: Wards residents and completely transformed the neighborhood. I'm each Jeffcote 146 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 147 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. And if you have any comments 148 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: or suggestions that you'd like to send us, you can 149 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: send those to this Day at I heeart Media dot com. 150 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: You can also hit us up on social media. We're 151 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: at t D I HC Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 152 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to the show and we'll 153 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. M M. For more podcasts from My 154 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 155 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.