The growing strength of the movement was evident six years later, on April 25, 1993, when nearly a million people attended the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. It was the largest demonstration in United States history to that time.

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With the defeat of George Bush's bid for re-election the previous fall ending the Reagan-Bush era, the mood of the march was much more celebratory and hopeful than in 1987.

The 1993 march received unprecedented media coverage for a glbtq event, including a cover story in Newsweek and news reports on the front page of many newspapers across the country.

The march was also groundbreaking for receiving the unanimous endorsement of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People--the first time that direct institutional ties had been made between the glbtq rights movement and the civil rights movement--and for explicitly including bisexuals in its name (although the march steering committee voted to add just "bi," fearing that the word "bisexual" would overly sexualize the event). Although attempts to add the word "transgender" to the march title failed, the rights of transgender people were included in the list of march demands.

The failure of the government to respond adequately to the AIDS crisis continued to be a major concern, but other glbtq issues were also prominent during the march. The right of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals to serve in the armed forces was an especially prominent theme, as President Clinton had failed to carry through on a campaign promise to repeal the military ban.

In addition to the march, participants could take part in more than 250 related events, including conferences, workshops, protests, congressional lobbying, dances, readings, and religious ceremonies.

The 2000 March

While the first three Marches on Washington were largely grassroots efforts with a broad section of the glbtq community represented on the organizing committees, the Millennium March on Washington for Equality in 2000 was called and directed by the Human Rights Campaign and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, with little initial consultation of other national, state, and local groups.

The march organizers sought to allay criticism that the event was being planned by a white, affluent, and relatively assimilated segment of the glbtq movement by including a more diverse representation on the board of directors. However, criticism continued about the closed nature of the planning process and the lack of a coherent political agenda and sense of purpose as compared to previous marches.

The focus appeared to be mainly on entertainment and corporate sponsorship. Because of these concerns, many prominent glbtq leaders joined a boycott movement, and a number of glbtq organizations opposed or subsequently withdrew their support from the march, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum.

The disputes resulted in the Millennium March's being smaller and less diverse than the 1987 and 1993 marches. Approximately 200,000 people attended the rally. Other main events included a stadium concert, a wedding ceremony involving about 1,000 same-sex couples on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and a festival of gay-friendly vendors and entertainment.

The festival was supposed to raise money for local glbtq groups, but it lost money amid charges of inappropriate expenditures and an F. B. I. investigation into the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Millennium March thus ended the same way it began: in controversy.

Despite the relative failure of the Millennium March, the marches on Washington in support of the rights of glbtq people are an important part of the modern movement for equality.

The U.S. gay rights movement has made significant progress toward achieving equality for glbtq Americans, and in the process has become more inclusive and diverse, but much remains to be done.

Throughout the year, the glbtq community unites in pride and in protest, in recognition of a rich heritage and in hope for the future.

The Metropolitan Community Church, a Christian denomination founded to minister to the glbtq community, has grown into a worldwide ministry with over 40,000 members in 18 countries.

Early in the gay rights movement activists challenged organized labor to broaden its struggle against discrimination to include sexual identity; consequently labor unions became some of the first mainstream organizations to call for equal rights.

Both parades and marches have served to render the glbtq community visible; whereas marches typically attempt to effect political change, parades and pride events affirm identity and community.

Two of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regarding constitutional liberty for glbtq people are Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

The largest glbtq political organization in the United States, the Human Rights Campaign has emerged as the leading national organization representing glbtq concerns.

Activist Cleve Jones is best known as the originator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, but his life as a gay man has always been firmly interwoven with his life as a political organizer.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States, was assassinated in San Francisco's City Hall, making him the American gay liberation movement's most visible martyr.

The oldest continuously operating national glbtq interest group, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has played a significant role in the development of the glbtq movement for equal rights.

Charismatic performer and activist Robin Tyler has spent much of her life enmeshed in the struggle for gay and lesbian rights, from planning national marches to promoting same-sex marriage.

Activist Urvashi Vaid has devoted her energies to trying to create a queer liberation movement that would have as its core the liberation of all people.