“If They Come for Me in the Night … They’ll Come for You in the Morning” “Fight Briggs
“If They Come for Me in the Night … They’ll Come for You in the Morning” “Fight Briggs - No on 6 and 7″ - Marc Huestis (photo)“The Briggs Initiative was placed on the California ballot in 1978 in an attempt to fire public school teachers who were gay or merely supported gay rights. “Vote No on 6” became a popular rallying cry within the gay community. With the help of Harvey Milk and other activists, the proposition was resoundingly defeated on 7 November 1978, losing even in John Briggs’ district, the conservative Orange County. Proposition 7 was known as the Death Penalty Act, increasing the penalties for murder in state of California. It passed on that day. Milk was assassinated 20 days after the election. The title of the poster is borrowed from a letter written by James Baldwin to Angela Davis in 1970, “…if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night.” Mark Heustis, a filmmaker, founded the San Francisco Gay Film Festival. The image is (based on) a still from his 1977 film, “Unity,” about the persecution of the gay population in Nazi Germany.” -- source link
#protests#briggs#gay rights#lgbtq#1970s#angela davis#james baldwin#harvey milk#homophobia#death penalty#teachers