THE 2ND MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS.
More than a half million people (between 300,000 and 1,000,000,
according to organizers...considerably more than the number that
attended Trump's inauguration, descended on the capital to participate in the second national March on
Washington. Many of the marchers were angry over the government's slow
and inadequate response to the AIDS crisis, as well as the Supreme
Court's 1986 decision to uphold sodomy laws in Bowers v. Hardwick.
With the first
display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, the 1987 march
succeeded in bringing national attention to the impact of AIDS on Gay
communities. In the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, a tapestry of nearly two
thousand fabric panels offered a powerful tribute to the lives of some
of those who had been lost in the pandemic.
The march also
called attention to anti-Gay discrimination, as approximately 800 people
were arrested in front of the Supreme Court two days later in the
largest civil disobedience action ever held in support of the rights of
Lesbians, Gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people.
The 1987 March on
Washington also sparked the creation of what became known as BiNet
U.S.A. and the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Organization (LLEGÓ), the first national groups for bisexuals and GLBTQ
Latinas and Latinos, respectively. Prior to the march, bisexual
activists circulated a flyer entitled "Are You Ready for a National
Bisexual Network?" that encouraged members of the community to be part
of the first bisexual contingent in a national demonstration.
Approximately 75 bisexuals from across the U. S. participated and began
laying the groundwork for an organization that could speak to the needs
of bi-identified people and counter the animus against bisexuals that
was commonplace in both Lesbian and Gay communities and the dominant
society.
By 1987, Latino
GLBTQ activists from Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, and elsewhere had
been meeting for two years, discussing ways to work together to further
the basic rights and visibility of GLBTQ Latinas and Latinos. But with
AIDS having a disproportionate impact on Latino GLBTQ communities
throughout the United States, the activists recognized the need for a
national organization and met at the March on Washington to form what
was then called NLLGA, National Latina/o Lesbian and Gay Activists.
Renaming themselves LLEGÓ the following year, the group has since
expanded to address issues of concern to Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and
transgender Latinas and Latinos in other countries.
Along with the
formation of new national groups, the most lasting effects of the
weekend's events were felt on the local level. Energized and inspired by
the march, many activists returned home and established social and
political groups in their own communities, providing even greater
visibility and strength to the struggle for Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and
transgender rights. The date of the march, October 11th, has
been celebrated internationally ever since as National Coming Out Day to
inspire members of the GLBTQ community to continue to show, as one of
the common march slogans proclaimed, "we are everywhere."
