Like Martin Luther King leading a union of activist groups to Washington D.C., to highlight the inequality and discrimination faced by African-Americans in their daily lives, so Harvey Milk, not sixteen years later, began planning a march of homosexuals to the Capitol. Like MLK, Milk was assassinated, even before he could carry out his plan, but rather than slowing down the movement, his death only invigorated it.

On this day, October 14, in 1979, between 75,000 and 125,000 men and women carried out the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, to highlight inequalities they faced and demand equal treatment.

The march was just part of a three-day rally that also included events intended to organize the gay community, raise awareness of their cause, and discuss issues important to them. Speakers included famed author Allen Ginsberg, Reverend Troy Perry, leader of a LBGT ministry; and Kate Millett, a prominent feminist. D.C. Mayor Marion Barry welcomed the marchers with open arms.