The First Dyke March

On April 24, 1993, a group of San Francisco lesbians joined the Lesbian Avengers, Queer Nation, and the National ACT UP Women's Committee in calling for a Dyke March the night before an NGLTF-sponsored National March on Washington for lesbian and gay rights. More than 20,000 lesbians marched! Soon women formed Dyke Marches in towns and cities across the country, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Montreal. 10,000 dykes marched in the first San Francisco Dyke March in 1993. Eighteen years later, 50,000 people attended the San Francisco Dyke March rally and march, the world's largest dyke march! Now the Dyke March has become an annual event in many cities, usually the night before the local LGTBQ Pride march.