List of protest marches on Washington, D.C.

The following is a list of protest marches on Washington, D.C..

Following a controversy over the Million Man March in 1995, the National Park Service stopped releasing crowd size estimates for rallies on the National Mall.[1] Crowd estimates after that point have come from protest organizers, researchers or news outlets. Owing to different methodologies, estimates can vary greatly.[2]

Most marches and rallies in Washington are one-time events. Two exceptions are the March for Life and Rolling Thunder, both held annually. The March for Life is a protest against abortion held on January 22 marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case legalizing abortion. The march has been held annually since 1974, typically drawing several hundred thousand demonstrators. Rolling Thunder is a motorcycle demonstration held since 1987 on Memorial Day to raise awareness of issues related to American Prisoner of War/Missing in action.

Before 1900

1900–1949

1950–1999

See also: March for Life (annual; on or near January 22; since 1974) and Rolling Thunder (annual motorcycle demonstration on Memorial Day, since 1987)
Date Name Description
1957 May 17 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom First large demonstration of the African-American civil rights movement in Washington. Martin Luther King, Jr. demands "Give us the ballot!"
1963 August 28 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Major civil rights march at which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 250,000 gathered for the event.
1965 November 27 March on Washington for Peace in Vietnam Organized by the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE). An estimated 250,000 attended. SANE's political director Sanford Gottlieb was the march chairman. The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam, the SDS, and Women Strike for Peace were also involved.[4]
1966 May 16 Another march against the Vietnam War
1967 October 21 March on the Pentagon The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam sponsored the march to protest the Vietnam War. Around 50,000 railed at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning for speeches and songs, although not all continued across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon. Organizers claimed 100,000 or more marches, but two intelligence agencies and an analysis of aerial reconnaissance photographs from a Navy Skywarrior plane estimated 35,000.[5]
1968 January 15 Jeannette Rankin Brigade A group of women's pro-peace organizations, including the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Women Strike for Peace, joined together as to confront Congress on its opening day, January 15, 1968, with a strong show of female opposition to the Vietnam War."[6] At age 87, Jeannette Rankin led the march of some 5,000 women.[7]
1968 - May 12 – June 19 Poor People's Campaign SCLC campaign to push for a Federal $30 billion anti-poverty package. Several thousand demonstrators built and camped in Resurrection City, while they lobbied Congress for the program until heavy rain and mud ended the encampment.
1969 - October 15 Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam Vietnam Moratorium. 200,000 demonstrate against the Vietnam War in D.C. and many more across the country.
1969 - November 15 National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam Vietnam Moratorium, 600,000 gather and demonstrate against the war in Vietnam.
1970 - April 4 Victory March A rally, organized by the Reverend Carl McIntire, the fundamentalist preacher and anticommunist radio commentator, calling for victory in the Vietnam War. Drew 50,000.
1970 - May 9 Kent State/Cambodian Incursion Protest A week after the Kent State shootings, 100,000 demonstrators converged on Washington to protest the shootings and President Richard Nixon's incursion into Cambodia
1970 - July 4 Honor America Day A rally put together by supporters of President Nixon
1970 - August 26 Women's Strike for Equality Held nationwide, it brought out around 20,000 female protestors in D.C. , New York City elsewhere to demand equal rights for women. The march helped expand the women's movement
1971 - April 19–23 Operation Dewey Canyon III Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and named after Operation Dewey Canyon, this anti-Vietnam War march included over 1,000 veterans camping on the National Mall and protests all over the city. John Kerry testifies in front of Senate.[8]
1971 - April 24 Vietnam War Out Now rally 200,000 call for end to Vietnam War.[8]
1971 - May 3 1971 May Day Protests Mass action by Vietnam anti-war militants to shut down the federal government.
1972 - May 21 Emergency March on Washington Organized by the National Peace Action Coalition and the People’s Coalition for Peace and Justice to protest the U.S.’s increased bombing of North Vietnam and the mining of N.V. harbors. Demonstration draws between 8,000 to 15,000 protesters.
1972 - May 27 March to protest apartheid in South Africa 8,000-10,000 attendees.[9]
1973 - January 20 Anti-war protest demonstration Includes the Yippies-Zippie RAT float & SDS, "March Against Racism & the War" contingent.
1974 - January 22 March for Life Pro-life demonstration held (annually) on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
1974 - April 27 Impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon Ten thousand participants.
1976 - May 6 Anti-Nuclear March Drew 125,000 people opposed to nuclear power and weapons following the Three-Mile Island accident.[10]
1977 - August 26 March for the Equal Rights Amendment. Drew thousands of feminists, including original suffragettes.
1978 - July 9 March for the Equal Rights Amendment Drew 100,000 feminist women and men.[11]
1978 - July 11 Longest Walk Thousands of Native Americans finish their 3200 miles long walk from San Francisco, rallying at the National Mall for religious freedom for traditional American Indians and against eleven drafts discussed at the Congress, and considered anti-Indian by native community.
1979 - February 5 Tractorcade 6000 family farmers drove their tractors to Washington D.C. to protest American farm policy.
October 14, 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights First such march on Washington drew 75,000-125,000 gay men and lesbians to demand equal civil rights.
1979, November 9 Iran Hostage Crisis A sign said "Deport all Iranians" and "Get the hell out of my country".
1981 - March 23 Draft Registration Protest About 30,000 rally against the renewal of Draft Registration, signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.[12]
1981 - September 19 Solidarity Day march AFL-CIO organized march to protest Reagan Administration labor and domestic policies; 260,000 march.
1982 - November 27 Washington Anti-Klan Protest.
1983 - August March on Washington commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" speech.
1986 - March 1 – November 15 The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament From Los Angeles, California to Washington D.C. (a.k.a. The Great Peace March) to raise awareness of the growing danger of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for complete, verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth.
1986 - March 9 March For Women's Lives - Reproductive Rights Rally National Organization for Women organized the 1986 'March For Women's Lives,' a massive pro-choice rally held in Washington D.C. on 9 March 1986.[13]
1987 - May 25 Rolling Thunder Run to the Wall Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle demonstration to bring awareness to issues related to American POW/MIA. It has evolved to be a more generic demonstration in support of soldiers and veterans.[14]
1987 - October 11 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights The second such march on Washington drew 500,000 gay men and women to protest for equal civil rights and to demand government action in the fight against AIDS.
1987 - December 6 Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews In December 6, 1987, the American Jewish Committee organized the Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews. 250,000 people attended the D.C. rally, which demanded that the Soviet government allow Jewish emigration from the USSR. The rally was held before a meeting between Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan. Participants in the rally included Union of Councils for Soviet Jews president Pamela Cohen, New York City mayor Ed Koch, vice president George H. W. Bush, Natan Scharansky, ambassador Moshe Arad, and congressman Jim Wright.
1989 - April March for Women's Lives Sponsored by the National Organization for Women. Attendance estimated at 500,000.
1991 - January 19 and 26 Dual Marches against the Gulf War The National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East estimated 250,000 attended the march on the 26th, but the National Park Service estimated attendance at 75,000. The march on January 19 was estimated at 25,000.
1992 - April 5 March for Women's Lives Pro-choice march organized by the National Organization for Women. The name would be reused for a similar 2004 event.
1992 - May 16 Save our Cities! Save our Children! Estimates put the crowd at 150,000.
1993 - April 25 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation Organizers estimated 1,000,000 attended and the D.C. Police Department put the number between 800,000 and more than 1 million, but the National Park Service estimated attendance at 300,000.
1995 - October 16 Million Man March A gathering and atonement of men from across the U.S. The United States Park Police officially estimated the crowd size at 400,000 while a Boston University study put the number at 837,000.[15]
1996 - October 12 Immigrant Rights March First national march in D.C. for equal rights for immigrants.
1997 - October 4 Promise Keepers Event titled Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men, an open-air gathering at the National Mall.

2000–2009

See also: March for Life (annual; on or near January 22) and Rolling Thunder (annual motorcycle demonstration on Memorial Day)

2010

See also: March for Life (annual; on or near January 22) and Rolling Thunder (annual motorcycle demonstration on Memorial Day)

2011

2012

2013

2014

2016

See also

References

  1. Markman, Joe (September 15, 2009). "Crowd estimates vary wildly for Capitol march". The Los Angeles Times.
  2. “Red ‘Hunger March’ Gets Gay Send-Off: Fed and Warmly Clothed, 600 in Trucks and Cars Start for Capital Demonstration.” New York Times: 3. 1 Dec. 1932. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
  3. William Conrad Gibbons, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part IV: July 1965-January 1968. Princeton University Press, 1995, p. 95.
  4. Steve Vogel, The Pentagon, A History: The untold story of the wartime race to build the Pentagon--and to restore it sixty years later, Random House, 2008, chap. 18.
  5. Harriet Hyman Alonso, Peace as a Women's Issue: A history of the U.S. movement for world peace and women's rights. Syracuse University Press, 1993, p. 221.
  6. "Rankin, Jeanette." Helen Rappaport, Encyclopedia of women social reformers, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO, 2001, p. 571.
  7. 1 2 "Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrate — History.com This Day in History — 4/19/1971". History.com. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  8. "10,000 Protest on South Africa". New York Times. 1972-05-28. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  9. WRL News, July–August 1979, War Resisters League, New York, NY
  10. "Nearly 100,000 demonstrators march on Washington D.C. for ERA July 9 in History". Brainyhistory.com. 1978-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  11. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vvgRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RO4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3452%2C3474576
  12. http://now.org/about/history/highlights/#1976
  13. http://www.rollingthundermotorcyclerally.com
  14. http://www.bu.edu/remotesensing/research/completed/million-man-march/ BU Remote Sensing Million Man March page
  15. "US moms protest against guns". BBC. May 15, 2000. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  16. `Rent-a-Mobs' Descend on D.C, Insight on the News, 2001
  17. Bush: Who's Protesting and Why, BBC News, January 20, 2001
  18. Inauguration Protests Largest Since Nixon in 1973, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 21, 2001
  19. "Anti-war demonstrators rally around the world". CNN. January 18, 2003.
  20. "Abortion activists on the march". BBC News. April 26, 2004.
  21. "Israel@60: A Capital Celebration to be Held on National Mall". Reuters. May 30, 2008.
  22. Page, Jordan (May 25, 2011). "Revolution March Blacked Out By Media". Huffington Post.
  23. Cloud, John (12 October 2009). "The Gay March: A New Generation of Protesters". Time. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  24. Douglas Rivlin. "200,000 March For Immigration Reform in Massive D.C. Rally | Immigration". AlterNet. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  25. "Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000." CBS News, October 30, 2010
  26. Danielle Wright (October 15, 2011). "No Justice, No Peace: Hundreds March on Washington to Protest Jobless Rate". BET.
  27. Susan Svrluga and Bill Turque (October 16, 2011). "D.C. marchers rally for jobs and justice". Washington Post.
  28. Spear, Stefanie (July 28, 2012). "5,000 People Unite in DC to Protest Fracking". EcoWatch.com.
  29. Collins, Eliza (January 26, 2013). "Thousands rally in Washington for gun control". USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  30. "Thousands Protest Closures During 'Million Vet March'" abcnews.com http://abcnews.go.com/US/million-vet-march-thousands-protest-war-memorial-closures/story?id=20558947 Retrieved October 13, 2013

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Further reading

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