October 7 ”Housing Now!” March on Washington DC

On this day in Labor History the year was 1989. 

That was the day thousands of people marched on Washington to protest against homelessness.

They gathered to protest against massive cuts in federal housing funding.

President Reagan had cut the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in half. 

The protesters hoped President George H. W. Bush would change this course. 

They called their protest, “Housing Now!".

Estimates of the crowd ranged from 40,000 to more than 200,000.

The New York Times described those who participated writing, “They came from far away as Miami and Beverly Hills, Memphis and Portland, Ore.  Some had walked from New York City.  They included homeless men and women, families who rent but can’t afford to buy homes, state and local officials and prominent figures…”

A delegation of 500 homeless people and allies came on buses from Chicago.

They were joined by famous participants that included Coretta Scott King, Susan Sarandon and a performance by Stevie Wonder.  

Union members joined the protest.

One of the participants interviewed by the New York Times was a 24-year old apprentice with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

Cassandra Benton told the paper, “Hopefully, now they will see everyone is unified. They’ll stop spending so much on weapons and other countries.” 

During the protest musician Tracy Chapman played her “Revolution,” a fitting song for the event. 

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, in January 2015, more than half a million people were homeless in the US.