The National Equality March was a national
political rally that occurred October 11, 2009 in Washington, D.C. It called for equal protection for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and
transgender (
LGBT) people in all matters governed by civil law in all
50 states and the District of Columbia.[1] The march was called for by activist
David Mixner and implemented by
Cleve Jones,[2] and organized by Equality Across America and the
Courage Campaign.[3] Kip Williams and Robin McGehee served as co-directors. Leaders like actress
Michelle Clunie,
Courage Campaign marketing director,
Billy Pollina and New York gubernatorial aide Peter Yacobellis hosted the first fundraiser in the spring of 2009. This was the first national march in Washington, D.C. for
LGBT rights since the 2000
Millennium March.[4]
Many groups joined by also organizing other events for the weekend, which coincided with
National Coming Out Day on October 11 and marked eleven years since the beating and murder of gay
University of Wyoming student
Matthew Shepard, which prompted national attention and action to expand
hate crime laws.
Equality Across America, which is fiscally sponsored by the non-profit
Tides Center, states it intends to develop a network of decentralized organizers from each of the
435 U.S. Congressional districts.[1]
History
Because organizers made extensive use of online social media tools to recruit and organize participants, the event was organized faster and more economically than those previous events.[5] Organizers spent $156,000 to produce the event, and raised approximately $260,000.[6] The surplus funds are being used by Equality Across America to pursue full Federal equality for LGBT people.[7]
March route
15th Street NW closed for staging between I Street NW and M Street NW. The march began at the intersection of I Street NW and 15th Street NW and initially headed south on Vermont Avenue NW then turned right on H Street NW. The march proceeded west past
Lafayette Park, south on 17th Street NW, and then east on the closed portion of
Pennsylvania Avenue immediately facing the
White House before turning south on 15th Street NW. Finally, the march followed Pennsylvania Avenue to the
United States Capitol.
Workshops
There were a series of workshops, including one on tactics for repealing "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell", a law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.[8] In addition, other workshops were on "How to Organize on Campus" and "Adoption Option: Adoption Is an Option." A "Transgender Community Building Caucus" was held.[8] Cleve Jones and Sherry Wolf held a workshop at Busboys and Poets café, with several hundred attending, on The Struggle for LGBT Liberation.
Speakers
After the march a rally at the
US Capitol featured more than 30 speakers,[9][10] including:
The National Equality March was endorsed by many of the major national LGBT organizations,[13] including
GLAAD,
HRC,
MCC, the
Task Force, and
P-FLAG. In addition, it was endorsed by other organizations, such as the
Screen Actors Guild, including many SAG members who individually endorsed the march as well. As well, the march was endorsed by other individuals, politicians, such as Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid,[14] faith leaders such as Rabbi and President of
North American Reform Judaism,
Eric Yoffie,[15] and others.