Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights

[4] It marked the first national coverage of ACT UP, with AIDS activists prominent in the main march, as well as making headlines the next day during mass civil disobedience actions at the United States Supreme Court Building.

[5] The desire for a national march in the LGBT community was prompted by two major events in the 1980s: the AIDS pandemic, the Ronald Reagan administration's lack of acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis; and the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick upholding the criminalization of sodomy between two consenting men in the privacy of a home.

"[6] Throughout the planning weekend, delegates debated many aspects of the march itself, including the needs of more marginalized members of the community – lesbian and gay people of color, those living in poverty and with disabilities.

[5] The march, demonstration and rally also included the first public display of Cleve Jones's NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

[8] The march itself was led by Cesar Chavez, Eleanor Smeal, Jesse Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and several other celebrities, who were followed by people with AIDS and their supporters, a number of whom were in wheelchairs.

Members of ACT UP brought their brand of theatrical and photogenic direct action to the march, and were featured prominently in the media of the event.