Dbq March On Washington

The 1987 LGBT (stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) March on Washington was the second march on Washington for LGBT rights. The first march on Washington took place in 1979, although, the 1987 LGBT March has often been called “The Great March” due to its high turnout and conclusion. The LGBT 1987 March on Washington was one of the largest and most important march of all the LGBT marches there has been. The march helped the LGBT community’s needs get noticed by important officials.

The march took place on October 11th, 1987, near the White House and the Capitol. October 11th has now come to be known as “National Coming Out Day”, because of this important march that positively affected the LGBT+ community. More than 1,000 elected officials had endorsed the march, including about 100 members of Congress (Williams). Roughly around 500,000 people marched, although the number is indefinite. (D’Emilio). The marchers had a range of different religions, races, sexualities, and political views.

There were many issues addressed at the march. One of the main issues being, wanting an end to LGBT discrimination. Specifically, equal rights for LGBT+ people, including “ the legal recognition of same-sex relationships and marriage” (Kohler). One of the other issues that was discussed at the march was wanting the Federal

government to provide more money for AIDS treatment and research. The march also briefly elaborated on wanting an end to discrimination against people with AIDS or similar illnesses.

Several important people spoke at the march.

Cesar Chavez, “Union President and Latino civil rights figure” (Kohler), spoke to the marchers. He had spoken in favor of the LGBT+ community many times before. Jesse Jackson was an African-American civil rights leader. He was also a democrat who was running for president at the time. He spoke about his support for LGBT rights and brought up how AIDS education and research needs more funding. Eleanor Smeal, the former president of the National Organization for Women, two gay members of congress: Gerry E. Studds and Barney Frank (Williams), and Whoopi Goldberg (Kohler) were other speakers at the

march.

The march started at around 9 AM and a man named Dan Bradley was the first to speak. Dan Bradley suffered from AIDS and was a gay man, so the march was very important to him. Dan Bradley was very happy that ''after a lifetime of struggle and fear, I had the courage in 1982 to say, loud and clear: 'I am gay and I'm proud. (Williams)

Jesse Jackson gave an uplifting speech to the crowd at the march. He said: “We gather today to say that we insist on equal protection under the law for every American, for workers' rights, women's rights, for the rights of religious freedom, the rights of individual privacy, for the rights of sexual preference. We come together for the rights of all American people” (Williams) and “Let’s find a common ground of humanity… [W]e share the desire for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, equal protection under the law. Let’s not dwell on distinctions” (Kohler). Mr. Jackson ended his speech with a reminder: “Today I stand with you. Election Day you stand with me” (Williams). Mr. Jackson was one of the most influential speakers at the march.

The LGBT march was a very important step forward for the LGBT community. The LGBT+ community gained many allies through the march and the community also got notice by important decision-making officials. The 1987 LGBT March on Washington was one of the most significant marches in LGBT+ history.