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Women march in Washington supporting ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which BPW first formally endorsed on July 17, 1937.
Credit: History Of Business and Professional Women/USA
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 Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
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— The Equal Rights Amendment
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National ERA March on Washington D.C. or "March for Equality" — 1978
In May 1976, the National Organization of Women (NOW) brought 16,000
supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) to march in Washington.
In 1977, 4,000 people marched down Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1978, NOW organized
over 100,000 people to march on Washington.
This March for Equality was the largest in feminist history to date.
Marchers struggled through 95 degree heat to hear NOW President Smeal
and other leaders speak on behalf of the ERA. Women from diverse backgrounds
marched in a sea of purple, gold and white banners (reflecting the suffragist
colors), to press for an extension of the time limit on ratifying the
ERA — which they won. The ERA was defeated in 1982 — three states
short of ratification.
The ERA has been re-introduced in Congress every year since 1985. NOW
did not organize another major march until the March for Women's Lives
in 1986 when over 120,000 women and men demonstrated in Washington, D.C.
Marches for abortion rights continued in the years to come with a record
breaking crowd of 750,000 in the 1992 March for Women's Lives. This march
brought the issue of abortion rights to the forefront in the 1992 elections.
Next: March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation — 1993 »
« Previous: May Day Anti-War Protest — 1971
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