Parks

Anacostia Park was a segregated park, with what is now the 11th St. Bridge serving as the segregation line.

Monument erected by the 122nd New York Cavalry who served with the Union Army during the Battle of Fort Stevens.

This monument, located at Stop #9 on the park's self-guided driving tour, was dedicated in 1907 by veterans of the 14th Brooklyn Regiment. This unit saw action in both the First and Second Battles of Manassas.

This monument erected by Co. K 150th Ohio National Guard who served in the Defenses of Washington during the Battle of Fort Stevens. The monument was dedicated in 1907.

The first-ever picket for gay rights in Washington, DC took place outside the White House in April 1965. One of the first protests of its kind in United States history, this moment stands alongside better-known protests and uprisings like Stonewall in New York as one of the origins of the American LGB rights movement. What would you picket for? Text what would be on your protest sign to someone you’d want to join your picket line.

Participants in the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights marched across E Street in front of the South Lawn of the White House on October 14, 1979. The 1979 march is seen as the birth of a national movement for LGB rights that helped small, local organizations unite, know that they were not alone, and bring their issues to a national stage showcasing their collective power.

At the end of the National March for Lesbian and Gay Rights, participants gathered near the base of the Washington Monument to listen to speakers proudly claim their queerness and paint a vision of a more inclusive future. One of these speakers was Charles Law, a Black gay activist based in Houston. He argued that the marchers must not fight for assimilate but integration so that all gay and lesbian people may one day enjoy the full benefits of their civil rights.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt has travelled across the country and been displayed in many prominent places, including here on the National Mall in front of the Washington Monument. This was the ‘Inaugural Display’, the result of cumulative efforts of thousands of volunteers and countless hours of work. It is a tragic memorial to thousands of lives lost, while also representing the enduring love of those who knew them best.

You are standing at the location of the second display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, DC. In October of 1988, 8,288 panels covering almost the entire grass field were placed to commemorate some of the many lives lost during the AIDS epidemic. During the display, one AIDS activist, Duane Puryear, made his own memorial panel for himself. The AIDS quilt is community arts and memorialization project organized by the NAMES Project Foundation.

In 1992, protestors came to the White House to scatter the ashes of their loved ones who passed away from AIDS onto the White House Lawn. Acting out of grief, anger and love, these protesters demanded that President George H. W. Bush and the United States government take action to end the AIDS epidemic.