The National March On Washington For Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Sacramento, California: Magnus Records in association with Alternate Publishing, 1980. 33rpm vinyl record in printed paper sleeve measuring 11¾” x 12”, both enclosed in slightly larger cardboard sleeve, itself enclosed in shrinkwrap. Outer sleeve near fine with some corner wear; inner sleeve near fine with hints of toning at extremities; record fine.

This is a vinyl record documenting the first-ever National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights which occurred October 14, 1979 and the “Gay Freedom Train” which led up to the march. Until this event, most LGBTQ+ activism was performed at the state and local level. Organizers of the march believed that even local rights could only be furthered through national unity. The first attempt at a national march was in 1973 and ultimately failed due to resistance from a number of national and local LGBTQ+ organizations. Another organizational meeting was held in 1978, and, after it failed Harvey Milk took over. His assassination helped propel organizers into agreeing on a march to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Stonewall. The organizers hoped to tie gay rights to human rights as President Carter had made human rights a foreign policy objective in 1977. An estimated 75,000 to 125,000 people attended.

According to a press release issued by Magnus Records, this record was released on October 14, 1980, the first anniversary of the event. It stated that the record was produced to “ensure the event has continued life, and to make sure gay/lesbian history is not rewritten as is so often the case.”

That press release further explained,

“[The record is] described by its producers as a "sound-quilt", the record features Allen Ginzburg [sic], Robin Tyler, Lucia Valeska, Charles Law, Tom Robinson, Kate Millet and others, plus a cast of 250,000. Music, interviews and portions of stage presentations are all woven together to create a portrait of the March on Washington. Included with the LP is an inner-sleeve of march photographs. The flip-side of the record captures the events of the Gay Freedom Train which made a whistle-stop rally tour across the United States from San Francisco to the nation's capital for the National March.”

One side of the record shares audio from the march itself and runs around 16 minutes. It's a mix of sound bytes from marchers with longer clips of speakers such as Allen Ginsberg reading poetry or Charles Law speaking on Harvey Milk “going to the mountaintop.” Interspersed throughout are regular chants of, “We are everywhere! We will be free!” Audios samples of Ginsberg, Charles Law, and the chant, are available on request.

The other side of the record documents the “Gay Freedom Train.” We learn from the liner notes that Robin Tyler and the Rev. Troy Perry of MCC hatched the idea of having local rallies at all the stops of an Amtrak from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. Over 100 marchers took that train and the liner notes describe several notable moments including its stop in Ogden, Utah where a baptist minister laid across the railroad tracks and wore a sign calling the marchers devils. He can be heard on the record screaming at them on the record. The liner notes also relay a couple of other confrontations which can also be heard on the record. There's also some audio related to “Amtrash,” which was the nickname for the bar car, where marchers brought in a piano and turned it into a gay bar. Presumably it was the first-ever mobile gay bar and the liner notes provide more detail on it.

In addition to the story of the GFT, the liner notes have numerous photographic images of the march and the GFT. They also include a detailed recent history of how the march came about with the steps taken since 1978 including the meeting of 128 delegates in Houston in July 1979 to discuss and debate march operations and goals.

According to the press release, the record also took a whole year to produce and was going to be sold by mail order, in retail record shops and by LGBTQ+ organizations. Portions of the proceeds were to go to pay off any debt that the national march organization committee still owed. Considering its scarcity, we think full distribution never occurred as OCLC locates only two copies.

This item is offered by Langdon Manor Books, LLC, antiquarian booksellers. We package our items carefully, ship daily, and have a no hassle returns policy--your satisfaction is guaranteed. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksllers (ILAB) and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA) and adhere to their rules of ethics. Near fine. Item #3590

Price: $1,750.00