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The following is a list of rallies and protest marches in Washington, D.C. , which shows the variety of expression of notable political views. Events at the National Mall are located somewhere between the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. The Mall is regulated by the National Park Service which is required to respect the free speech rights of Americans.
Following a controversy over the Million Man March in 1995, the National Park Service stopped releasing crowd size estimates for rallies on the National Mall. [1] Crowd estimates after that point have come from protest organizers, researchers or news outlets. Owing to different methodologies, estimates can vary greatly. [2]
Most marches and rallies in Washington are one-time events. Two exceptions are the March for Life and Rolling Thunder, both held annually. The March for Life is a protest against abortion held on or near January 22 marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case legalizing abortion. The march has been held annually since 1974, typically drawing several hundred thousand demonstrators. Rolling Thunder is a motorcycle demonstration held since 1987 on Memorial Day to raise awareness of issues related to American Prisoner of War/Missing in action.
Date | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
1894 March 16 - May 1 | Fry's Army | Protest march by unemployed workers. |
1894 March 25 - May 1 | Coxey's Army | Protest march by unemployed workers. |
Date | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
1913 March 3 | Woman Suffrage Procession | 5,000 march to support women's voting rights the day President-elect Woodrow Wilson arrived for his swearing in the next day. |
1914 April–May | Coxey's Army § Second march | |
1925 August 8 | Ku Klux Klan march | Between 25,000 and 50,000 Ku Klux Klan members march to show support for the KKK and demand immigration restrictions based on race and nation of origin. [3] [4] |
1931 December 6 | Hunger March | Communist-led march of unemployed workers from across the country. [5] |
1932 January 6 | Cox's Army | A march of 25,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians to encourage Congress to start a public works program. |
1932 May–July | Bonus Army | March by 20,000 World War I veterans and their families seeking advance payment of bonuses from the Hoover administration; two killed. |
1939 April 9 | Marian Anderson concert | 75,000 estimated attendance. Integrated concert at Lincoln Memorial held in defiance of DAR refusal to host her performance [6] |
1943 – October 6 | Rabbis' march | Protest for American and allied action to stop the destruction of European Jewry. |
Date | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
1957 May 17 | Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom | First large demonstration of the Civil Rights Movement in Washington, on 3rd anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education . Martin Luther King Jr. demands "Give Us the Ballot" |
1958 October 25 | Youth March for Integrated Schools (1958) | An estimated 10,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to show support for the ongoing efforts to end racially segregated schools in the U.S. |
1959 April 18 | Youth March for Integrated Schools (1959) | An estimated 26,000 people gathered at the National Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument to show support for ongoing efforts to end racially segregated schools in the U.S. This was the second such march with speeches delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Charles S. Zimmerman. |
1963 August 28 | March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom | Major civil rights march at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 250,000 gathered for the event. |
1965 November 27 | March on Washington for Peace in Vietnam | Organized by the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE). An estimated 250,000 attended. SANE's political director Sanford Gottlieb was the march chairman. The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam, the SDS, and Women Strike for Peace were also involved. [7] |
1966 May 16 | Another march against the Vietnam War | |
1967 October 21 | March on the Pentagon | The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam sponsored the march to protest the Vietnam War. Around 50,000 railed at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning for speeches and songs, although not all continued across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon. Organizers claimed 100,000 or more marchers, but two intelligence agencies and an analysis of aerial reconnaissance photographs from a Navy Skywarrior plane estimated 35,000. A march described in Norman Mailer's Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Armies of the Night . [8] Among the groups supporting were the Peace Torch Marathon, starting in San Francisco August 27, walking across country through Ann Arbor Michigan and arriving 10/21 in Washington to the steps of the Capitol during the march. |
1968 January 15 | Jeannette Rankin Brigade | A group of women's pro-peace organizations, including the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Women Strike for Peace, joined as to confront Congress on its opening day, January 15, 1968, with a strong show of female opposition to the Vietnam War." [9] At age 87, Jeannette Rankin led the march of some 5,000 women. [10] |
1968 – May 12 – June 19 | Solidarity Day June 19, part of the Poor People's Campaign | SCLC campaign to push for a Federal $30 billion anti-poverty package. Several thousand demonstrators built and camped in Resurrection City, while they lobbied Congress for the program until heavy rain and mud ended the encampment. 50,000–100,000 estimated in attendance. Juneteenth Rally for economic justice, during which tens of thousands joined the Resurrection City shantytown established on the Mall in May. [11] |
1969 – October 15 | Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam | Vietnam Moratorium. 200,000 demonstrate against the Vietnam War in D.C. and many more across the country. |
1969 – November 15 | National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam | Vietnam Moratorium, 600,000 gather and demonstrate against the war in Vietnam. Widely considered the largest march in the history of the United States at that point. The march and all-day rally on the Mall culminated a week of protests throughout the city, including a "March Against Death" from Arlington National Cemetery past the White House to the U.S. Capitol led by pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and the Rev. William Sloane Coffin of Yale. |
1970 – April 4 | Victory March | A rally, organized by the Reverend Carl McIntire, the fundamentalist preacher and anticommunist radio commentator, calling for victory in the Vietnam War. Drew 50,000. |
1970 – May 9 | Kent State/Cambodian Incursion Protest | A week after the Kent State shootings, 100,000 demonstrators converged on Washington to protest the shootings and President Richard Nixon's incursion into Cambodia |
1970 – July 4 | Honor America Day | A rally put together by supporters of President Nixon hosted by Bob Hope [12] |
1970 – August 26 | Women's Strike for Equality | Held nationwide, it brought out around 20,000 female protestors in D.C., New York City elsewhere to demand equal rights for women. The march helped expand the women's movement |
1970 – October 3 | March for Victory | A rally, organized by the Reverend Carl McIntire, the fundamentalist preacher and anticommunist radio commentator, calling for victory in the Vietnam War. Drew 100,000. |
1971 – April 19–23 | Operation Dewey Canyon III | Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and named after Operation Dewey Canyon—two secret US military incursions into Cambodia and Laos—this anti-Vietnam War march included over 1,000 veterans camping on the National Mall and protests all over the city, including in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. John Kerry testifies in front of Senate. [13] |
1971 – April 24 | Vietnam War Out Now rally, 1971 May Day Protests | 200,000 call for end to Vietnam War. [13] |
1971 – May 3 | 1971 May Day Protests | Mass action by Vietnam anti-war militants to shut down the federal government. The slogan was "If the government doesn't stop the war, we'll stop the government." The official protest button featured Gandhi with a raised fist. A non-violent mass civil disobedience campaign of blocking traffic led to the single largest mass arrest in the history of the United States: some 10,000 people, many of them temporarily held behind fences at the Washington Redskins practice field, surrounded by National Guard troops. |
1970 – May 8 | March for Victory | A rally, organized by the Reverend Carl McIntire, the fundamentalist preacher and anticommunist radio commentator, calling for victory in the Vietnam War. Drew 150,000. |
1972 – May 21 | Emergency March on Washington | Organized by the National Peace Action Coalition and the People's Coalition for Peace and Justice to protest the U.S.'s increased bombing of North Vietnam and the mining of N.V. harbors. Demonstration draws between 8,000 and 15,000 protesters. |
1972 – May 27 | March to protest apartheid in South Africa | 8,000–10,000 attendees. [14] |
1973 – January 20 | Anti-war protest demonstration | Includes the Yippies-Zippie RAT float and SDS, "March Against Racism & the War" contingent. |
1974 – January 22 | March for Life | Pro-life demonstration held (annually) on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade . |
1974 – April 4 | Honor Dr. King – March for Jobs Now | Washington DC rally sponsored by National Coalition Against Inflation and Unemployment and other groups. |
1974 – April 27 | Impeachment process against Richard Nixon | Ten thousand participants. |
1975 – April 26 | Solidarity Day | According to two participants, sponsored by the IUD – Industrial Unions Dept of the AFL–CIO, and many other groups that supported the April 4, 1974 March for Jobs Now! rally sponsored by the National Coalition to Fight Inflation and Unemployment. George Meany spoke and notably said, "All are welcome." More information is needed on this event; efforts are being made to obtain it as of January 2017 edit. |
1976 – September 18 | "America and God's Will" speech by Sun Myung Moon | Unification Church rally on Washington Monument grounds reportedly draws 300,000 participants. [15] |
1977 – August 26 | March for the Equal Rights Amendment. | Drew thousands of feminists, including original suffragettes. |
1978 – July 9 | March for the Equal Rights Amendment | Drew 100,000 feminist women and men. [16] |
1978 – July 11 | Longest Walk | Thousands of Native Americans finish their 3200 miles long walk from San Francisco, rallying at the National Mall for religious freedom for traditional American Indians and against eleven drafts discussed at the Congress, and considered anti-Indian by the native community. |
1979 – February 5 | Tractorcade | 6000 family farmers drove their tractors to Washington, D.C., to protest American farm policy. |
1979 – May 6 | Anti-Nuclear March | Drew 125,000 people opposed to nuclear power and weapons following the Three-Mile Island accident. [17] |
1979 – October 14 | National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights | First such march on Washington drew 75,000–125,000 gay men and lesbians to demand equal civil rights. |
1979 – November 9 | Iran Hostage Crisis | A sign said "Deport all Iranians" and "Get the hell out of my country". |
1980 – March 23 | Mobilization Against the Draft and Draft Registration | About 30,000 rally against the renewal of Draft Registration, proposed by President Jimmy Carter. [18] [19] |
1981 – May 3 | People's Anti-War Mobilization (PAM) / May 3 Coalition | March to protest Reagan Administration Central American and domestic policies; 100,000 march. Themes were stop the U.S. war buildup; U.S. hands off El Salvador; divest from Southern Africa; money for jobs and human needs, not for the Pentagon; stop racist violence; end lesbian and gay oppression. [20] |
1981 – September 19 | Solidarity Day march | AFL–CIO organized march to protest Reagan Administration labor and domestic policies; 260,000 march. |
1982 – November 27 | Washington Anti-Klan Protest. | |
1983 – August | March on Washington commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" speech. | |
1986 – March 1 – November 15 | The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament | From Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C. (a.k.a. The Great Peace March) to raise awareness of the growing danger of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for complete, verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. |
1986 – March 9 | March For Women's Lives – Reproductive Rights Rally | National Organization for Women organized the 1986 'March For Women's Lives,' a massive pro-choice rally held in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 1986. [21] |
1987 – April 25 | Mobilization for Justice & Peace in Central America & Southern Africa | The march began at noon, going north up 17th Street NW from Constitution Avenue, winding past the White House and ending with a rally on the west steps of the Capitol about 2 p.m. Speakers included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Eleanor Smeal and Ed Asner, with music performances by Peter, Paul and Mary, and Jackson Browne. [22] |
1987 – May 25 | Rolling Thunder Run to the Wall | Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle demonstration to bring awareness to issues related to American POW/MIA. It has evolved to be a more generic demonstration in support of soldiers and veterans. [23] |
1987 – October 11 | Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights | The second such march on Washington drew 500,000 gay men and women to protest for equal civil rights and to demand government action in the fight against AIDS. |
1987 – December 6 | Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews | On December 6, 1987, the American Jewish Committee organized the Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews. 250,000 people attended the D.C. rally, which demanded that the Soviet government allow Jewish emigration from the USSR. The rally was held before a meeting between General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Soviet general secretary and US president Ronald Reagan. Participants in the rally included Union of Councils for Soviet Jews president Pamela Cohen, New York City mayor Ed Koch, vice president George H. W. Bush, Natan Scharansky, ambassador Moshe Arad, and congressman Jim Wright. |
1989 – April | March for Women's Lives | Sponsored by the National Organization for Women. Attendance estimated at 500,000. |
1990 April 28 | Rally for Life 1990 | Took place at the Washington Monument Grounds. According to the organizers, up to 700,000 people attend the rally. [24] The National Park Service estimated 200,000 attendees. [25] |
1991 – January 19 and 26 | Dual Marches against the Gulf War | The National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East estimated 250,000 attended the march on the 26th, but the National Park Service estimated attendance at 75,000. The march on January 19 was estimated at 25,000. |
1992 – April 5 | March for Women's Lives | Pro-choice march organized by the National Organization for Women. The name would be reused for a similar 2004 event. |
1992 – May 16 | Save our Cities! Save our Children! | Estimates put the crowd at 150,000. |
1993 – April 25 | March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation | Organizers estimated 1,000,000 attended and the D.C. Police Department put the number between 800,000 and more than 1 million, but the National Park Service estimated attendance at 300,000. |
1995 – October 16 | Million Man March | A gathering and atonement of men from across the U.S. The United States Park Police officially estimated the crowd size at 400,000 while a Boston University study put the number at 837,000. [26] |
1996 – October 12 | Immigrant Rights March | First national march in D.C. for equal rights for immigrants. |
1997 – October 4 | Promise Keepers | Event titled Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men, an open-air gathering at the National Mall. |
Beginning in late 2002 and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and worldwide public opinion.
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States–based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations. Formed in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ANSWER has since helped to organize many of the largest anti-war demonstrations in the United States, including demonstrations of hundreds of thousands against the Iraq War. The group has also organized activities around a variety of other issues, ranging from the Israel/Palestine debate to immigrant rights to Social Security to the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles.
Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located near 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. The plaza features an inlay that partially depicts Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington. The National Park Service administers the Plaza as part of its Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and coordinates the Plaza's activities.
The proposed invasion of Afghanistan prompted protests with mass demonstrations in the days leading up to the official launch of the war on October 7, 2001. The continuation of the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 lead to further protest and opposition to hostilities.
The March for Life is an annual rally and march against the practice and legality of abortion, held in Washington, D.C., either on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision legalizing abortion nationwide which was issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court. The participants in the march have advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which happened at the end of the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. It is a major gathering of the anti-abortion movement in the United States and it is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.
The January 27, 2007 anti-war protest was an anti-war march sponsored by United for Peace and Justice in Washington, D.C. The official event consisted of a rally and march at the United States Capitol.
The September 15, 2007 anti-war protest was a march from the White House to the United States Capitol. It was organized by Veterans for Peace and the ANSWER Coalition. Volunteers were recruited for a civil disobedience action, which included a die-in. Volunteers signed up to take on the name of a soldier or civilian who died because of the war, and lay down around the Peace Monument. In attendance were public figures such as Cindy Sheehan and Ralph Nader. Police arrested more than 190 demonstrators who crossed police lines in front of the Capitol. Chemical spray was used by Capitol Police.
Protests against Donald Trump have occurred in the United States, Europe and elsewhere from his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign to his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Protests have expressed opposition to Trump's campaign rhetoric, his electoral win, his inauguration, his alleged history of sexual misconduct and various presidential actions, most notably his travel ban in 2017 and his aggressive family separation policy in 2018. Some protests have taken the form of walk-outs, business closures, and petitions as well as rallies, demonstrations, and marches. While most protests have been peaceful, actionable conduct such as vandalism and assaults on Trump supporters has occurred. Some protesters have been criminally charged with rioting. The largest organized protest against Trump was the day after his inauguration; millions protested on January 21, 2017, during the Women's March, with each individual city's protest taken into consideration, makes it the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States.
The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which were considered misogynistic and threatening to the rights of women by supporters of the protest. It was at the time the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, being surpassed 3 years later by the George Floyd protests. The goal of the annual marches is to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers' rights and tolerance. According to organizers, the goal was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights".
The following is a timeline of the protests against Donald Trump, the former president of the United States of America, businessman, and television personality.
The Tax March was a series of demonstrations held in more than 150 locations throughout the United States on April 15, 2017. The intent was to pressure U.S. President Donald Trump to release his tax returns.
"Not My Presidents Day" was a series of rallies against the president of the United States, Donald Trump, held on Washington's Birthday, February 20, 2017. Protests were held in dozens of cities throughout the United States. Demonstrations were also held outside London's Houses of Parliament.
There were several protests organized by the LGBT community against the policies of United States President Donald Trump and his administration.
The Mother of All Rallies (M.O.A.R.) was a rally held on September 16, 2017, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States, in support of President Donald Trump. The event was held on the same day as other demonstrations throughout the city, including the Juggalo March. Speakers included Marco Gutierrez and the leaders of Gays for Trump and Patriot Prayer, among others. Members of the 3 Percenters, American Guard, Oath Keepers, and Proud Boys were present, as were Antifa and Black Lives Matter activists. Crowd estimates ranged from several hundred to around 1,000 attendees, far less than organizers' original goal of 1 million participants and claims that thousands would attend. No Republican elected officials attended the rally.
The 2018 Women's March was a global protest that occurred on January 20, 2018, on the anniversary of the 2017 Women's March.
Abortion in the District of Columbia is legal at all stages of pregnancy. In 1971, in United States v. Vuitch, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law saying abortion was allowed for health reasons, which include "psychological and physical well-being". Consequently, the District of Columbia became a destination for women seeking abortions starting that year.
Protests began in multiple cities in the United States following the 2020 United States presidential election between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Vice President Joe Biden, held on November 3, 2020. Biden won the election, receiving 81.3 million votes (51.3%) to Trump's 74.2 million (46.9%) and winning the Electoral College by 306 to 232. Biden's victory became clear on November 7, after the ballots had been tabulated. The Electoral College voted on December 14, in accordance with law, formalizing Biden's victory.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.