Rally At Monument
Thousands Converge On Capital
’’Lovers of your own sex, arise!”
some banners read, ’’Stonewall means
fight back” others read. ’’Lesbianas
de Color,” ”Gay Dentist,” ’’Country
Faggot,” ”We are everywhere,” and
”I don’t molest children and I don’t
do windows” dotted the crowd of thou
sands who had assembled for the first
National March on Washington for
Lesbian and Gay Rights on Oct, 14.
Gay men and women gathered after
more than a year of planning to
demonstrate their determination to
achieve full .civil rights. Tens of
thousands of gay men, lesbians and
transpeople organized on the Mall,
where only a week before Pope John
Paul II had held Mass.
Third World Lesbians and a special
women’s contingent led off the inarch.
Many women chose to march in this con
tingent, while others chose to march
in their state delegations.
Delegations represented almost
every state in the union, and inter
national contingents were also there.
A variety of gay people were repre
sented, including many professions,
many religions, and many geographic
regions and cities such as Chicago,
New York and Los Angeles and small
towns such as Pawtucket, RI and
Watertown, NY.
’’The gay community was manifested
in all of its magnificent diversity,
a stunning show of strength by a
people who, in solidarity, were say
ing no to shame, hatred, and oppres
sion,” said one marcher.
The march began at noon, moving
from the Mall, down 17th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, past the White
House, to the Washington Monument.
Then a four-hour rally was held,
with participants crowding the
Monument grounds.
The demonstration was nonviolent,
in accordance with the philosophy of
the march. No major disturbances
were reported, although three tear
gas cannisters were thrown among the
last marchers, March marshals also
reported that members of the New
York Revolutionary Socialist League,
a predominantly straight organiza
tion which had sent a large group in
support of the march, had attempted to
provoke police with violent chants
and taunts. Crowds along the march
route were generally friendly, al
though two men with ’’Repent or
Perish” and ’’Jesus Saves From Hell”
signs confronted marchers across
from the White House, Another hun
dred Fundamentalists prayed for gay
repentance outside the Rayburn House
Office Building,
The speakers at the rally stress
ed the importance of the day’s
massive turnout. ”We are no longer
second class citizens," said Ray Hill,
”we are declaring our freeddm and
celebrating it,”
Lesbian feminist Betty Santoro
said that "this historic event lias
laid the foundation for a national
mass movement for lesbian and gay
rights...as we move into the next
decade, we move with the force and
energy of a united people.”
Some confusion existed at the rally
and in media coverage as to the number
of people present at the march and
rally. According to Gay Community
News, the over-heard comment of a
police officer that "there must be
a quarter million of those damn
queers” was mistakenly conveyed as
fact to comedian Robin Tyler. She
announced it to the enthusiastic
crowd. March officials, using two
spotters along the march route and
one atop the Washington Monument,
estimated the crowd at 120,000.
District of Columbia police used
count projections and helicopter
"grid sections” to estimate a crowd
in excess of 75,000, while the
National Park Service used the same
techniques during the same time
period to arrive at a figure of
only 25,000,
=Third World
toric nature of the conference, "It
meant that people, who have been ex
cluded from the gay movement because
they weren’t white and who were also
somewhat excluded from racial equal
ity movements because of their sex
uality, could get together and con
structively work to create social
change," a spokesperson said.
For example, a black lesbian
shares a number of oppressions on the
basis of race, gender and sexual
orientation. If one were to follow
the lead of these individuals by help
ing to eliminate their oppressions,
these actions would help alleviate
those same oppressions against indi
viduals who have fewer strikes
against them,
A spokesperson said,"This was not
a case of ’more oppressed than thou’
but simply a basic understanding on
the part of many people who have ex
perienced many different kinds of dis
crimination long before they ’came
out’.”
Naps, for instance, the performing
group that is part of the Salsa Soul
(THIRD WORLD, cont. p. 12)
i