On this day in Labor History the year was 1979.
That was the day that the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights took place in Washington D.C.
Estimates of marchers ranged from as few 75,000 to as many as 200,000.
The year of the march was significant.
It marked the ten-year anniversary of the police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village.
When police raided Stonewall it sparked a series of protests that helped launch the modern LGBT rights movement.
Ten years later, gay and lesbian Americans still faced significant employment and legal discrimination.
Many also faced violence.
The published program for the event included a tribute to Harvey Milk, the openly gay Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who had been assassinated a year earlier.
Lyrics to the song “Harvey Milk’s Body” was written for the tune of “John’s Brown Body.”
The program also included an article urging march participants to lobby Capitol Hill for justice.
A sample letter to congress was printed as a template.
It noted that that “Many lesbians and gay men face unjust discrimination in employment,” and called for change.
The march organizers issued five demands.
The second demand was that President Carter issue an “order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Federal Government, the military and federally-contracted private employment.”
The program included a list of organizations that supported the march.
Not many labor unions endorsed, with a few notable exceptions such as Actors Equity Association, three AFSCME locals, and one American Federation of Teachers local.
More demonstrations in Washington D.C. followed.
A march held in 1993 drew crowds estimated at one million—a powerful gathering for the movement to end LGBT discrimination.
May 11 - Organizing in the Fields
May 10 - Bankruptcy Bonanza for Big Bankers
May 9 - The Historic ‘34 West Coast Maritime Strike Begins
May 8 - Mary Marcy is Born
May 7 - Popeye The Union Man
May 6 - FDR Rolls Out the WPA
May 5 - The Bay View Massacre
May 4 - UE Beats Back HUAC in Dayton
May 3 - First Workers Compensation Law is Passed
May 2 - Our Thing is DRUM!
May 1 - Mayday Marchers Attacked in Cleveland
April 30 - Refinery Workers Walk Off the Job
April 29 - Allis-Chalmers and the Road to Taft-Hartley
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
Heal, Survive & Thrive!
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast