List of rallies and protest marches in Washington, D.C.
Date Name Description
1957 May 17 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom First large demonstration of the Civil Rights Movement in Washington , on 3rd anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education . Martin Luther King Jr. demands Give us the ballot !
1963 August 28 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Major civil rights march at which Martin Luther King , Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial . 250,000 gathered for the event
1965 November 27 March on Washington for Peace in Vietnam Organized by the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy ( SANE ) . An estimated 250,000 attended . SANE 's political director Sanford Gottlieb was the march chairman . The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam , the SDS , and Women Strike for Peace were also involved
1966 May 16 Another march against the Vietnam War
1967 October 21 March on the Pentagon The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam sponsored the march to protest the Vietnam War . Around 50,000 railed at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning for speeches and songs , although not all continued across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon . Organizers claimed 100,000 or more marchers , but two intelligence agencies and an analysis of aerial reconnaissance photographs from a Navy Skywarrior plane estimated 35,000 . A march described in Norman Mailer 's Pulitzer Prize winning book , The Armies of the Night . Among the groups supporting were the Peace Torch Marathon , starting in San Francisco August 27 , walking across country through Ann Arbor Michigan and arriving 10/21 in Washington to the steps of the Capitol during the march
1968 January 15 Jeannette Rankin Brigade A group of women 's pro-peace organizations , including the Women 's International League for Peace and Freedom and Women Strike for Peace , joined together as to confront Congress on its opening day , January 15 , 1968 , with a strong show of female opposition to the Vietnam War . At age 87 , Jeannette Rankin led the march of some 5,000 women
1968 - May 12 - June 19 Solidarity Day June 19 , part of the Poor People 's Campaign SCLC campaign to push for a Federal $ 30 billion anti-poverty package . Several thousand demonstrators built and camped in Resurrection City , while they lobbied Congress for the program until heavy rain and mud ended the encampment . 50,000-100,000 estimated in attendance . Juneteenth Rally for economic justice , during which tens of thousands joined the Resurrection City shantytown established on the Mall in May
1969 - October 15 Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam Vietnam Moratorium . 200,000 demonstrate against the Vietnam War in D.C. and many more across the country
1969 - November 15 National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam Vietnam Moratorium , 600,000 gather and demonstrate against the war in Vietnam . Widely considered the largest march in the history of the United States at that point . The march and all-day rally on the Mall culminated a week of protests throughout the city , including a March Against Death from Arlington National Cemetery past the White House to the U.S. Capitol led by pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and the Rev . William Sloane Coffin of Yale
1970 - April 4 Victory March A rally , organized by the Reverend Carl McIntire , the fundamentalist preacher and anticommunist radio commentator , calling for victory in the Vietnam War . Drew 50,000
1970 - May 9 Kent State/ Cambodian Incursion Protest A week after the Kent State shootings , 100,000 demonstrators converged on Washington to protest the shootings and President Richard Nixon 's incursion into Cambodia
1970 - July 4 Honor America Day A rally put together by supporters of President Nixon hosted by Bob Hope
1970 - August 26 Women 's Strike for Equality Held nationwide , it brought out around 20,000 female protestors in D.C. , New York City elsewhere to demand equal rights for women . The march helped expand the women 's movement
1971 - April 19-23 Operation Dewey Canyon III Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and named after Operation Dewey Canyon - two secret US military incursions into Cambodia and Laos - this anti-Vietnam War march included over 1,000 veterans camping on the National Mall and protests all over the city , including in front of the U.S. Supreme Court . John Kerry testifies in front of Senate
1971 - April 24 Vietnam War Out Now rally , 1971 May Day Protests 200,000 call for end to Vietnam War
1971 - May 3 1971 May Day Protests Mass action by Vietnam anti-war militants to shut down the federal government . The slogan was If the government does n't stop the war , we 'll stop the government . The official protest button featured Gandhi with a raised fist . A non-violent mass civil disobedience campaign of blocking traffic led to the single largest mass arrest in the history of the United States : some 10,000 people , many of them temporarily held behind fences at the Washington Redskins practice field , surrounded by National Guard troops
1972 - May 21 Emergency March on Washington Organized by the National Peace Action Coalition and the People 's Coalition for Peace and Justice to protest the U.S. 's increased bombing of North Vietnam and the mining of N.V. harbors . Demonstration draws between 8,000 and 15,000 protesters
1972 - May 27 March to protest apartheid in South Africa 8,000-10,000 attendees
1973 - January 20 Anti-war protest demonstration Includes the Yippies - Zippie RAT float & SDS , March Against Racism & the War contingent
1974 - January 22 March for Life Pro-life demonstration held ( annually ) on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade
1950–1999
See also : March for Life ( annual ; on or near January 22 ; since 1974 ) and Rolling Thunder ( annual motorcycle demonstration on Memorial Day , since 1987 )
The following is a list of rallies and protest marches in Washington, D.C., which shows the variety of expression of notable political views. Events at the National Mall are located somewhere between the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. The Mall is regulated by the National Park Service which is required to respect the free speech rights of Americans. Following a controversy over the Million Man March in 1995, the National Park Service stopped releasing crowd size estimates for rallies on the National Mall. Crowd estimates after that point have come from protest organizers, researchers or news outlets. Owing to different methodologies, estimates can vary greatly. Most marches and rallies in Washington are one-time events. Two exceptions are the March for Life and Rolling Thunder, both held annually. The March for Life is a protest against abortion held on January 22 marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case legalizing abortion. The march has been held annually since 1974, typically drawing several hundred thousand demonstrators. Rolling Thunder is a motorcycle demonstration held since 1987 on Memorial Day to raise awareness of issues related to American Prisoner of War/Missing in action. May 27, 2019 was the last ride by Rolling Thunder in Washington, DC.