Top Ten LGBTQ Marches in DC History | Capital Jewish Museum

Washington, DC has long been a stage for LGBTQ+ activism. From the first “gay picket” in 1965 to the recent WorldPride 2025 celebration, marches in the capital have shaped the national conversation on queer rights. This roundup explores ten of the most pivotal moments, from protests and vigils to bookstore openings and everyday celebrations, that brought visibility, pride, and change to the streets of DC.

1965: Frank Kameny and the First White House LGBTQ+ Protest

Frank Kameny and the Mattachine Society’s protest in front of the White House in 1965 is known as “the first gay picket” and has to be the go-to march for any list, even if there were only a dozen people, and they only walked around in a circle. Society members wore (men): suits and ties or (women): panty hose and pumps and held signs saying things like “sexual preference is irrelevant to federal employment” and “Homosexual Citizens want to serve their country too.” Another of Kameny’s signs read: “Discrimination against homosexuals is as immoral as discrimination against Negroes and Jews.” These are in the Smithsonian’s collection, though (besides some outdated language) they ring pretty relevant today.

Participants on the National Mall at the National March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, & Bi Equal Rights & Liberation, April 1993. Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum Collection. Gift of Mitch Weissner.

1979: The First National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights

The first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was held on October 14, 1979. This was a big deal. Back in the day, 100,000 LGBTQ+ Americans coming to DC with a gay liberation platform seemed like a major change in the Force, like from Star Wars but with better outfits.

David Green helped organize housing for protestors traveling from other gay congregations around the country for the 1979 March for Lesbian and Gay Right.. Flyer & notepaper, 1979. Gift of Bet Mishpachah, with thanks to Joel Wind and Al Munzer, Capital Jewish Museum Collection

Official Souvenir Program from the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian & Gay Rights. Gift of Bet Mishpachah with thanks to Joel Wind & Al Munzer, Capital Jewish Museum Collection

1963: Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

You could argue that having out Black gay man Bayard Rustin lead the organizing efforts for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 counts as an important moment in any history of gays who march. It’s my list, so I’m the one arguing it.

As seen in What is Jewish Washington?

Labor organizer Hyman Bookbinder (1916-2011) carried this pennant at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, and to many civil rights marches afterwards. Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. Gift of Hyman Bookbinder

1972–1975: The Early Years of Capital Pride

A few years after the Stonewall Inn raid and subsequent riots in New York sparked the larger, nationwide gay rights movement, the nation’s capital organized its first Gay Pride event, in 1972. Not yet an annual celebration, the party/protest/march/festival that became Capital Pride became an annual happening a few years later, in 1975.

1974: LGBTQ+ Bookstores March into DC History

As a book person, I have to include 1974 as an important March Moment, as DC residents could take themselves on their own march through LGBTQ+ history at the bookstore. Lambda Rising and Lammas Women’s Bookstore both opened in 1974. They are both closed now, but the love for them marches on.

1987: Marching During the AIDS Crisis

The second March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights took place in 1987 with 750,000 people. This was the height of the AIDS epidemic, which meant that discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS was top of mind for many marchers. The week’s events included a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court, since the ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick which upheld Georgia’s sodomy law had happened only the year before.

1993: Holocaust Vigil and the Third National March on Washington

The third March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation of 1993 brought almost a million people to Washington, DC. Coinciding with the opening of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the week’s events included a vigil for gay victims of the Holocaust, a moment made possible by the gay and lesbian children of Jewish Holocaust survivors, who demanded that non-Jewish gay victims were made part of the institution’s storytelling and memorialization.

Poster, March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, 1993. On loan courtesy of Rainbow History Project, Cheryl Spector Collection

2000–2017: National LGBTQ+ Marches in the New Millennium

There’s a bunch more marches, of course, including the Millenium March in 2000; National Equality March in 2009 and the National Pride March in 2017, none of which came close to the attendance in 1993. By the 21st century, there were so many Pride marches in so many towns that the DC of it all became less important, apparently.

2025: WorldPride March in DC

Speaking of DC, this year the numbers should be up. And WorldPride 2025 has some fun merch this year, if by “fun” you mean a t-shirt that says “Hate is No Joke.” The opportunity for people to come to DC and march, on this year of all years, seems important, and that’s not a joke (unfortunately).

Marching to LGBTJews in the Federal City Exhibition

The celebratory march that will break out every day for the rest of 2025 from Metro’s Red Line to the Museum so folks can get in line for our exhibition, LGBTJews in the Federal City. I’m picturing rainbow flags, sure, but also can there be music, maybe? Either Jill Sobule’s “I Kissed a Girl” or Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” I’m easy.

Visit the Capital Jewish Museum’s exhibition on LGBTQ+ Jewish history, open now through January 4, 2026.