Washington DC Trip Day 3: National Equality March And Rally

I spent today at the National Equality March and Rally. I got a great spot atop a stone wall (stonewall, get it?) at 15th St NW and Pennsylvania Avenue so I could get some good pics above the heads of the crowd. They're currently estimating attendance at 250,000. I'm not an expert, but look at the photos below. The parade route was packed, including people walking down the sidewalks on 15th, and it lasted 65 minutes with the marchers walking at a decent clip and no stoppages. Seems like more than 250K to me. Maybe at the rally, and more in the march?

Based on a lukewarm response at the announcement of the event months ago, I expected about 1,000 people to show up and that it would be an embarrassment for our community. I was thoroughly impressed. Our leaders and organization that said this wouldn't be a success (yep, Barney, I'm talking to you) have only shown that they are being replaced by a new generation of activist. Start paying attention or lose your power. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Even if it doesn't make any difference on Capitol Hill, the march and rally certainly show a realignment within our movement.

Towards the end of the march, I jumped in and walked, too. Shortly after I did that, I spotted Mike from Mike In The Middle Ages and we had a brief chat. I first met him at the blogger get-together in New York City a year ago.

How many people can say they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol of the United States for their civil rights? Very awe inspiring.

At the rally, I was most inspired by an 18-year-old straight man Sam Sussman from Orange County, NY that gave a fiery speech about civil rights. See the speech here.