"I was there, one in a million" Button
Suggested Teaching Instructions
Every June, many LGBTQ+ people march in parades to celebrate pride and continue the fight for equal rights and protections. The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in April of 1993 followed two previous marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987. It was potentially one of the largest, estimated between 800,000 and 1 million attendees. Estimates from the organizers believe that about 300,000 New Yorkers attended, so many that the highways were flooded with travelers and Amtrak added more trains to Washington to cope with the influx from New York. The platform for this march asked for the passage of a civil rights bill for LGBTQ+ people.
Learning Standards:
11.10 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE/DOMESTIC ISSUES (1945 – present): Racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequalities were addressed by individuals, groups, and organizations. Varying political philosophies prompted debates over the role of the federal government in regulating the economy and providing a social safety net. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, GOV, CIV, ECO)
11.10b Individuals, diverse groups, and organizations have sought to bring about change in American society through a variety of methods.
Gay Rights and the LGBT movement (e.g., Stonewall Inn riots [1969], efforts for equal legal rights)
8.9 DOMESTIC POLITICS AND REFORM: The civil rights movement and the Great Society were attempts by people and the government to address major social, legal, economic, and environmental problems. Subsequent economic recession called for a new economic program. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, SOC, CIV, ECO)
8.9b The civil rights movement prompted renewed efforts for equality by women and other groups.
Students will examine struggles for equality and factors that enabled or limited success on behalf of women, farm workers, Native Americans, the disabled, and the LGBT community.