27 Years Ago Today in Washington, DC

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 12:24pm

Being in that crowd that day was one of the most thrilling and empowering experiences imaginable. It was the second ever March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights (the first was in 1979) and there were thousands upon thousands upon thousands of us there. National Coming Out Day has been celebrated every year since on October 11, to encourage people to bring the same kind of experience they felt that day back to their hometowns and their daily lives.

Updated On: 10/11/14 at 12:24 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 12:25pm

The 24 hour news network CNN had no coverage. Their excuse was that it "happened on a Sunday."

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 12:41pm

However, real life hero activist Andy Humm, DID bring the "Gay USA" cameras and documented so many highlights.
For Love & For Life

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 12:48pm

"Mr. President, you will see a family in the truest senses of the word, because one of the tests of a family is a crisis. You sill see a family that has drawn together in the most deeply of human ways." -- Congressman Gerry Studds.

If there are two messages I can impart to the younger queers of today about that era and what happened at and after that march, one is never EVER let anybody tell you that Ronald Reagan was a great man or even a fair to middling president… his administration was actively antagonistic to the most vulnerable, including queers and those dying of AIDS. The other is, action CAN cause change. That weekend in 1987 saw the national debut of ACT UP, and in the immediate aftermath, chapters sprung up all over the country. ACT UP changed the the medical culture in this country for all people suffering from disease.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 3:15pm

Thanks, Namo. Although I was just a kid at the time, I've certainly heard about the march before, but for some reason I had no idea of its scale. While nowhere near as important or historic as this weekend in '87 or as the fight against AIDS, in 2008, down in San Diego, I helped organize the largest march in the country in reaction to the passage of Prop 8. It was, as you said, viscerally thrilling to be among your people as we found our collective voice. The reaction from the local community was immediate, too. We heard from many people that until they saw all those people marching through the city, the fact that a vote for "yes" on Prop 8 actually affected other people hadn't clicked.

Anyway, I didn't mean to threadjack - just to say that in my small way - I get that emotion you're talking about. Thank you to you and the hundreds of thousands of others who marched on that day.

And, uh, message received on Reagan. Hell, this is only ONE of the reasons I refuse to honor the memory of this hero of the Right.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 3:24pm

Are you kidding? That's exactly the sort of action the Washington marchers hoped would reverberate around the country and over the decades!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 3:48pm

Yeah, you know, getting involved in the marriage equality fight, brought me in contact with hundreds of older members of the community whom I'd never met before. Met plenty of brave women and men who were fighting that good fight in the 80s, but also met a few true pioneers who were organizing lgbt protests as far back as the 50s. I'm in awe of that level of bravery and conviction.

There certainly was a little bit of tension. All of us who ended up being on the organizing committee were in our 20s. Some community organizers in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s felt they were being left out - which I, insensitively - didn't really understand or care about at the time. In my mind it was "the cause" and everyone just needed to let go of ego, but I neglected to acknowledge that these men and women had - for decades - often been the lone voices for our dignity in a much more hostile world and were now, in some ways, being pushed aside. At the same time, though, it was important that a new post-AIDS generation find its voice and, for at least some of the older activists I spoke with, it was heartening for them to see apathy evolve into anger and then action. Such an interesting time for me.

Anyway, rambling. Appreciate you posting about this, Namo.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 3:50pm

Yeah, so, we try to do better the next time! That's what activism is! "The world only spins forward."

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/11/14 at 4:13pm

Yeah, for sure.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 10/12/14 at 6:49am

The Pride film has made me curious about gay activism that took place before I was aware of it.

Were Pride marches taking place in the US at this time or did they evolve out of this event?

Updated On: 10/12/14 at 06:49 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/12/14 at 10:38pm

Yikes, I thought I had rapidly aged there for a second. I was at the 1993 one, not 1987. Close call...

As to your question Scripps, pride stuff was happening long before this, at least in NYC, starting in 1970, I believe, to commemorate the Stonewall riots.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/12/14 at 11:00pm

The first pride marches happened in the year after the Stonewall Riots, which happened in June 1969.