Millennium March on Washington
Encyclopedia
The Millennium March on Washington was an event to raise awareness and visibility of lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT
) people and issues of LGBT rights in the US, it was held April 28 through April 30, 2000 in Washington, DC. The Millennium Pride Festival was held prior to the March, it was a huge event that saw thousands flock to the US capital. A march from the Washington Monument to the front lawn of the Capitol took place on April 30, where the crowd was addressed by several members of Congress and, via video, by President Bill Clinton
. Estimates of attendance ranged from 200,000 to 1 million people. One of the weekend's more successful events was the sellout Equality Rocks concert produced by LGBT rights organization Human Rights Campaign
. The concert was held in Washington's RFK Stadium and included stars such as Melissa Etheridge
, George Michael
, Pet Shop Boys
, Garth Brooks
, and k.d. lang
.
The event was criticized for a lack of inclusiveness and political focus as well as concerns over financial accountability.
Allegations of theft from a vendor and severe financial mismanagement arose after the event. The final accounting showed the event ended with $330,000 in unpaid debt. In terms of the expense per participant, it was the least cost-efficient of any national LGBT march to date.
The documentary A Union in Wait
was filmed at the march.
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people and issues of LGBT rights in the US, it was held April 28 through April 30, 2000 in Washington, DC. The Millennium Pride Festival was held prior to the March, it was a huge event that saw thousands flock to the US capital. A march from the Washington Monument to the front lawn of the Capitol took place on April 30, where the crowd was addressed by several members of Congress and, via video, by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Estimates of attendance ranged from 200,000 to 1 million people. One of the weekend's more successful events was the sellout Equality Rocks concert produced by LGBT rights organization Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
. The concert was held in Washington's RFK Stadium and included stars such as Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
, and k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
.
The event was criticized for a lack of inclusiveness and political focus as well as concerns over financial accountability.
Allegations of theft from a vendor and severe financial mismanagement arose after the event. The final accounting showed the event ended with $330,000 in unpaid debt. In terms of the expense per participant, it was the least cost-efficient of any national LGBT march to date.
The documentary A Union in Wait
A Union In Wait
A Union in Wait is the name of a 2001 documentary film about same-sex marriage, directed by Ryan Butler. A Union In Wait was the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States.-Location:...
was filmed at the march.
See also
- National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RightsNational March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RightsThe National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 14, 1979. The first such march on Washington, it drew between 75,000 and 125,000 gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people and straight allies to demand...
(1979) - Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RightsSecond National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RightsThe Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 1987...
(1987) - March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and LiberationMarch on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and LiberationThe March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993...
(1993) - National Equality MarchNational Equality MarchThe National Equality March was a national political rally that occurred October 11, 2009 in Washington, D.C.. It called for equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia...
(2009)