The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and
Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in
Washington, D.C. October 11, 1987. Its success, size and scope has led it
to be referred to by many in gay history as "The Great March".
LGBT community desire for a new march was prompted by two
major events in the 1980s: the spread of AIDS and the Ronald
Reagan administration's lack of acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis; and the
Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick upholding
the criminalization of sodomy between two consenting men in the privacy of a
home. In 1986, Steve Ault & Joyce Hunter, co-coordinators of the 1979
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, drafted documents
to extant LGBT organizations soliciting interest in a new march. The response
was favorable, and the two organized an initial planning meeting in New York
City on July 16, 1986, where it was decided that the march would be held in
1987. Representatives from all known LGBT organizations were subsequently
invited to a national conference in New York City on November 14–16, 1986 where
they would discuss the politics, logistics and organization of the event. The
delegates would be addressing four primary concerns:
- What will a
March on Washington accomplish?;
- How should
organizers and LGBT organizations proceed?;
- What should be
the focus and platform of the event?; and
- When should the
March take place? The conference was held under the slogan
"For love and for life, we're not going back!"
Throughout the weekend, delegates debated many aspects of the
march itself, including bisexual and transgender inclusion, needs of
minorities and people of color, and whether or not to include non-LGBT-centric
issues such as APARTHEID as part of the march's platform. At the end of the
weekend, the overall structure for the National Steering Committee had been
set.
The second meeting of the steering committee was held in January
1987 in the City of West Hollywood at City Hall. Steve Ault, Pat Norman and Kay
Ostberg were elected as the three national co-chairs of the event. The
delegates also finalized the march's platform and political purpose.
The final organizational meeting for the march took place in
Atlanta on May 2–3, 1987. This meeting served primarily to hammer out
logistical details and determine the slate of individuals to speak at the
rally.
The delegates at the West Hollywood convention chose seven primary
demands to serve as the platform for the 1987 March. Each of these demands was
supplemented with a broader list of demands which extended beyond the scope of
single-issue LGBT concerns. In doing so, the organizers wished to underscore
their recognition that oppression of one group affects oppression of all
groups. The seven primary demands were:
- The legal
recognition of lesbian and gay relationships.
- The repeal of
all laws that make sodomy between consenting adults a crime.
- A presidential
order banning discrimination by the federal government.
- Passage of the
Congressional lesbian and gay civil rights bill.
- An end to
discrimination against people with AIDS, ARC, HIV-positive status or those
perceived to have AIDS. Massive increases in funding for AIDS education,
research, and patient care. Money for AIDS, not for war.
- Reproductive
freedom, the right to control our own bodies, and an end to sexist
oppression.
- An end to racism
in this country and apartheid in South Africa.
The march was part of six days of activities, with a mass wedding
and protest in front of the Internal Revenue Service on October 10, and, three
days later, a civil disobedience act in front of the Supreme Court
building protesting its rulings upholding Bowers v. Hardwick.
The march, demonstration and rally also included the first public display of
Cleve Jones' NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The march itself was led by Cesar Chavez and Eleanor Smeal,
who were followed by people with AIDS and their supporters.
Speakers at the rally included:
- former National
Organization for Women president Eleanor Smeal
- union president
and Latino civil rights figure Cesar Chavez
- actor and
comedian Whoopi Goldberg
- Jesse Jackson,
then a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President. Jackson told
the crowd, "Let's find a common ground of humanity... We share the
desire for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, equal protection under
the law. Let's not dwell on distinctions."
The 200,000 person estimate, widely quoted from the New York
Times, was made several hours before the march actually began; similarly,
most of the pictures used by mainstream media were taken early in the morning,
or of the AIDS Quilt viewing area rather than the march itself. Police on the
scene estimated numbers during the actual march to be closer to half a million.
The event was supported and endorsed from its early stages by such
national LGBT organizations as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
