This year’s National Coming Out Day on October 11th will feature the "National Equality March," which is expected to draw thousands of demonstrators to the capitol. In the spirit of this year’s planned events, Do Something compiled a list of top 11 marches on Washington.

1. March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation on April 25, 1993 demanded a civil rights bill and an end to discrimination by state and federal governments. Organizers estimated 1,000,000 attended, but the National Park Service estimated attendees at 300,000.
2. March for Women’s Lives on April 25, 2004 drew a crowd of between 800,000 to 1,100,000 in defense of a woman’s right to choose.
3. Million Man March on October 16, 2005 set to out to place the social and economic issues facing the black community back on the nation’s agenda. The crowd size was estimated at between 400,000 and 839,000, depending on who you talk to.
4. Million Mom March on May 14, 2000 drew 750,000 who wanted stricter gun laws that would keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals.
5. Vietnam Moratorium on November 15, 1969 is believed to have been the largest demonstration in US history with an estimated two million people involved across the country and 600,000 demonstrating in the nation’s capital.
6. National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11, 1987, the second such march on Washington, drew between 500,000 to 650,000 gay men and women to protest for equal rights and to demand government action in the fight against AIDS.
7. Vietnam War Out Now rally drew 500,000 people in a call to end the Vietnam War.
8. TheCall DC began on September 20, 2000 as a gathering of over 400,000 people to pray and fast for the United States.
9. March for Life which began on January 22, 1973 is held annually on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and typically draws 100,000 to 300,000 per year.
10. Solidarity Day March on September 19, 1981 was organized by the AFL-CIO to protest the Reagan administration’s labor and domestic policies. An estimated 260,000 to 350,000 came out to demonstrate.
11. Civil Rights March on Washington on August 28, 1963 is most known for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech. A crowd of 250,000 gathered.

Sources:

GLBTQ

National Organization for Women

Time.com

Smithsonian Institute

Brady Campaign

GLBTQ


BBC

Bloomberg.com

TheCall

March for Life

State University of New York at Albany

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