San Francisco Federal Building (by Milo Witte)

The Federal Office Building in San Francisco was erected in the 1930's following a major earthquake and subsequent fires (1). It was the last building of the San Francisco Civic Center and was a critical component in the architectural design. The building was eventually renovated and repurposed following the construction of a new Federal Center in 2007. The site, which currently houses the General Services Administration, is located on 50 United Nations Plaza. The building was the site of several AIDS awareness protests during the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1986, gay activist Cleve Jones held a candlelight vigil for Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were both assassinated in 1978 by a disgruntled former city employee, Dan White. Jones was mentored by Harvey Milk and would go on to write a book about the LGBTQ rights movement, and co-found the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, one of the most influential organizations for people with AIDS (2). Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay political figures in the United States. His inauguration was a historic event; once instated, he authored an important anti-discrimination ordinance, and defeated Proposition 6 (also called the Briggs initiative, which would have prevented out queer educators from working in schools) (3). White, the city employee who assassinated Moscone and Milk, actually resigned from his position in opposition to the landmark gay rights ordinance pioneered by Milk, and then grew frustrated when the city council would not re-instate him. Moscone was extremely progressive for the time for his extreme allyship with the LGBT community and various diverse racial groups that have long since existed in San Francisco. Thus, Moscone, at the urging of Milk, sought to replace White on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with a similarly-progressive member.

The history of the LGBTQ community in San Francisco has not always been one of acceptance and progress, but circumstances have improved as of late. Although initially a hotbed of discrimination against gay and trans folk (as well as Latinx, Chinese, Indigenous, and African-Americans), in particular with outright legal consequences for simply existing (being caught ‘cross-dressing’ or engaging in ‘sodomy’ would mean sometimes 15-20 years in jail), the city is now a haven and an example of forward movement and thinking in the 21st century (4). This can even be seen on government-run websites that acknowledge the damage government institutions have done in the past, and detail ways they intend on making change for the better. Allyship like this is important because government support of oppression is what bolsters bigots and conservatives into keeping detrimental policies in place. The primary event that the Federal Building is associated with is the inspiration for the NAMES Project AIDS MemorialQuilt. Cleve Jones organized an HIV/AIDS demonstration during which he asked participants to write the names of loved ones lost to the disease on squares of cardboard that were then displayed on the Federal Building. To  Jones, the signs taped to the side of the building appeared similar to a quilt, and this served as the catalyst to the quilt’s creation.

The NAMES Project remains one of, if not the most breathtaking, heartbreaking, and historical memorials in LGBTQ rights history. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a 54 ton tapestry containing 48,000 panels, which are dedicated to more than 100,000 individuals. It is 1.2 million square feet, and is recognized as the largest community art project in the world. Segments of it are used as an educational aid in teaching HIV prevention, and in the past 20 years, more than 15 million people viewed it, raising well over 3 million dollars to AIDS prevention. Its scale, significance, and implications of the severity and staggering cost of the AIDS crisis can be overwhelming to those who view it. It is a testament both to the unfair treatment and tragic losses of the LGBT community, and the resilience and triumphant resolve of that same community. Without the rallies at the Federal Building, the quilt imagery would have never inspired Jones, and the concept could never have been realized. For that reason, the building holds significance for the LGBT rights movement. Before this project was devised, enacted, and realized, it was easy for many people to dismiss AIDS as merely being “a gay disease” and not something that had any significance on their lives or the world at large. By making such a historical creation with such a clear message, the outliers who denied the severity of the AIDS crisis had no ground to stand on, aside from outing their homophobia and bigotry.

Notes

1. "50 United Nations Plaza Federal Office Building (San Francisco)." Wikipedia. September 12, 2019. Accessed November 30, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_United_Nations_Plaza_Federal_Office_Building_(San_Francisco).

2. "Cleve Jones." Wikipedia. October 13, 2020. Accessed November 30, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleve_Jones.

3. Graves, Donna J., and Shayne E. Watson. "Citywide Historic Context Statement for LGBTQ History in San Francisco." San Francisco Planning Committee. October 2015. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://default.sfplanning.org/Preservation/lgbt_HCS/LGBTQ_HCS_October2015.pdf. 

4. Stryker, Susan. 2015. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=44d03194-6eca-4a7f-a47b-c22bcecd1bb5@pdc-v-sessmgr01.