National Equality March
Matthew Shepard Act signed into law (October 22); US President Barack Obama committed to end "Don't ask, don't tell", the US military policy forbidding gays, bisexuals, and lesbians to serve openly | |
Website | www.NationalEqualityMarch.com |
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The National Equality March was a national
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
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
Workshops
There were a series of workshops, including one on tactics for repealing "
Speakers
After the march a rally at the
including:- Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation(GLAAD)
- Dustin Lance Black – American screenwriter, director, television producer, and LGBT rights activist
- Washington Post op-ed explaining his reasons for participating in the march[11]
- Staceyann Chin – spoken word poet, performing artist and LGBT rights activist
- Arabic linguist whose discharge from the New York Army National Guardunder the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is currently being reviewed
- bisexual activist, former United States Congressman, film producer
- Tanner Efinger – March Organizer and Founder of Postcards to the President
- Cleve Jones – the march’s co-chairperson and longtime gay rights activist
- David Mixner – civil rights activist and best-selling author
- Nicole Murray-Ramirez – LGBT rights activist and a San Diego city commissioner
- and founder of Homeless Youth Pridewalk and Operation Shine America
- bisexual actress, most notably from Sex and the City
- Reverend Troy Deroy Perry II – founder of the Metropolitan Community Church
- Christine C. Quinn – first openly gay speaker of the New York City CouncilSpeaker
- Bill Rosendahl – openly gay Los Angeles City Council member
- Judy Shepard – mother of brutally murdered gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard and co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation
- Babs Siperstein– the first openly transgender member of the Democratic National Committee
- NAACP
- Urvashi Vaid – LBGT activist
- City Councilmember
- Sherry Wolf -author, LGBT and socialist activist, associate editor of International Socialist Review
- Kit Yan – slam poet, musician, activist, and out transgender man
Endorsements
The National Equality March was endorsed by many of the major national LGBT organizations,
See also
- List of protest marches on Washington, D.C.
- National Pride March (2017)
References
- ^ a b "National Equality March – Our Single Demand". Equality Across America. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ Cleve Jones Joins Call for National LGBT March on Washington D.C.
- ^ Roehr, Bob (October 15, 2009). "National Equality March draws 100,000 to DC". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ "New group wants march on DC". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ Browning, Bil (November 5, 2009). "The Finances Behind the National Equality March". The Bilerico Project. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ "We have a new leadership team!". Equality Across America. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ a b House OKs Matthew Shepard Act to protect gays, Los Angeles Times, October 8, 2009
- ^ Previewing National Equality March, MSNBC, October 10, 2009
- ^ "National Equality March Rally". GayCities.com. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- Washington Post. Archived from the originalon October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- ^ "National Equality Rally". c-spanvideo.org. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- Courage Campaign, Gay and Lesbian Times, Randy Hope, October 8, 2009
- ^ ‘Our fight for full equality’, SOVO, Amy Cavanaugh, October 9, 2009
- ^ On Eve of March, Faith Drives Activism for Gay Rights Supporters, BeliefNet, September 30, 2009