March on Washington 2008?

I picked up this idea from another thread on this board, and it just won't leave me be.

I think it is time for another March on Washington, planned for the summer of 2008, 15 years after the last big one in 1993. The theme would be how far we have come (or not) in the last 15 years and how far we still need to go towards full equality in this country.

Does anyone else here support the idea? How would something like this get organized, and is there any way to keep organization from being hijacked by groups like ANSWER?

I think it would be very illuminating to invite candidates for President and Congress to speak at the rally. It corresponds with the 15th anniversary of the 93 march, which is a nice milestone anniversary.

I am also willing to take on the planning myself, which means I want enough time to get things organized. A march on Washington will be a bit more work than organizing a community center bake sale, methinks :eyes: and I'd rather have two years to get things pulled together than just one. That is one of the reasons I posed these questions, to see where I might go for info on how to get the ball rolling and how to keep it rolling.

It should be 2007 or 2009. The last thing we need is our own version of what the religious reich is trying to do with the gay marriage ban amendment. We need to think strategically. In fact, the Dems might come out and do more for us even under pressure just to stop us marching on an election year.

If you are interested in debating the various perspectives on this, check out this yahoo group.

Thanks for posting.

feel free to post something, please. It hasn't seen much traffic lately. Hopefully, referring people from this thread can help with that.

this weekend in DC?????

2008 sounds about right. It would be a reminder to the Democratic Party not to take us for granted in November.

During the march in 1993, I was an extremely closeted 17-year-old who had recently graduated from high school and was anxiously awaiting college that August so I could get the hell out of my 4,000-person hometown. I remember watching it on C-SPAN (when I was home alone, of course), and wishing desperately that I could have been there. I was also fully aware that I was gay by that point, but I had no idea how I was going to ever find the courage to come out--thankfully I had found that courage by the end of the year.

During the march in 2000, I was unable to attend because of work and school commitments and a serious lack of funds to travel (I was living in North Carolina).

But the next march on Washington, whenever that will be, I will damn well be there! A previous poster mentioned meeting up with other GLBT DUers. I think that's a fabulous idea that I strongly support. It would be a blast to meet some of you guys and girls face-to-face!

As far as organizing the event goes, I honestly have no idea where to begin. That's sounds like a rather hefty project and I'm sure the commitment of time and resources would be huge. Are there existing web sites from the previous two marches that could provide some insight? That may be a good place to start. If you're considering getting this project in motion TechBear, I certainly wish you lots of luck. I'll be glad to give you whatever help I can provide.

:)

With nearly two years' lead-up time, we can organize - line up sponsors, organize busses, and so on. This can be huge.