- Tens of thousands have gathered in New York City and cities across the country to protest in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody.
- Millions of people have marched through the streets of New York City over time to protest inequality, violence, and demand social change.
- Here's a look at some of the biggest protests that have taken place in the city over the last 100 years and how they have impacted change.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
SEE ALSO: 14 of the biggest marches and protests in American history
NOW READ: How 7 days of US protests over the death of George Floyd spiraled into chaos and deadly violence
Silent Protest Parade - 1917
When: July 28, 1917
Estimated attendance:10,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators marched in silence to protest violence against African-Americans following race riots in East St. Louis, Missouri.
Impact: The Silent Protest Parade, organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was "the first mass African-American demonstration of its kind and marked a watershed moment in the history of the civil rights movement," Chad Williams, an associate professor of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University, wrote in an opinion piece for the Miami Herald in 2017.
The parade "constituted a radical claiming of the public sphere and a powerful affirmation of black humanity," Williams said. "It declared that a 'New Negro' had arrived and launched a black public protest tradition that would be seen in the parades of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s and the Black Lives Matter marches of today."
Peace March - 1967
When: April 15, 1967
Estimated attendance:125,000-400,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators called for peace and an end to the Vietnam War that began November 1, 1955. Speakers included civil rights activists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael.
Impact: The Peace March in New York preceded a Peace March six months later in DC, which drew an estimated 100,000 and included a march to the Pentagon. Following the DC events, President Lyndon Johnson called General William Westmoreland, commander of US Troops in Vietnam, back to the US to address Congress and the public, the editors of History.com reported. The administration also launched a campaign to restore public trust in the war which continued for eight years more, ending on April 30, 1975.
Stonewall Riots - 1969
Estimated attendance:600 on June 28; thousands the following week
Reason for protest: The Stonewall Riots took place over the course of five days on Christopher Street in the Greenwich Village in response to police raids targeting LGBTQ customers at the Stonewall Inn the night of June 28, 1969.
Impact: The Stonewall Riots were a landmark moment for the gay rights movement, marking "a decisive break from the more passive sexual-orientation politics of the day," Michael Bronski, a Harvard professor in the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality noted in the Harvard Gazette last year. They notably gave rise to the Gay Liberation Front and pride parades around the world.
Anti-Nuclear March - 1982
When: June 12, 1982
Estimated attendance:600,000-750,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators gathered for a rally in Central Park to call for nuclear disarmament and an end to the Cold War arms race.
Impact: The Anti-Nuclear March "powerfully undercut" public support for Reagan's nuclear agenda, the late author and political writer Jonathan Schell wrote for the Nation in 2007. "According to a CBS/New York Times poll, between 1981 and 1985 support for increases in military spending dropped from 61 percent to 16 percent," he said. "It is a matter of record, too, that in response Reagan returned to nuclear arms negotiations with the Soviet Union."
Anti-Iraq War Protest - 2003
When: February 15, 2003
Estimated attendance: 100,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators called upon the US government to avoid going to war with Iraq after Secretary of State Colin Powell presented since-debunked evidence to the United Nations that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Impact: Soon after, the US dropped its push for the UN to approve a second resolution that would have legitimized the war, Paul Blumenthal reported in 2018 for the Huffington Post. However, on March 20, the US invaded Iraq.
Occupy Wall Street - 2011
When:September 17 - November 17, 2011
Estimated attendance:15,000 during the Occupy Wall Street march through the Financial District on October 5, 2011
Reason for protest: Demonstrators staged sit-ins for months at Zuccotti Park north of Wall Street to protest corporate greed, income inequality, and the influence of wealth on politics.
Impact: Writing for the Atlantic in 2015, journalist Michael Levitin said that one of Occupy Wall Street's chief accomplishments was giving Americans new language for discussing income inequality: "the 99% and the 1%." Levitin also credits the movement with building momentum for an increased minimum wage and drawing attention to the student-debt crisis.
People's Climate March - 2014
When: September 21, 2014
Estimated attendance: 400,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators marched to raise awareness of climate change and urge policymakers to take action.
Impact: The 2014 march has grown into the People's Climate Movement, with marches happening around the country each year. Organizers estimate that they have mobilized over 1 million people to date. Among key achievements, they highlight unifying climate groups and organizations, helping states institute climate-friendly policies, and laying the groundwork for the Green New Deal, a resolution introduced to Congress by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward J. Markey in February 2019 that outlines a plan for combatting climate change.
Women's March - 2017
When: January 21, 2017
Estimated attendance: 400,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators gathered to advocate for social change related to women's rights and human rights on the day following President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Impact: The Women's March inspired conversations about gender, diversity, and inclusion and set the stage for the #Me Too and Time's Up movements that gained traction later in 2017 and called for an end to sexual harassment and the gender pay gap. Iterations of the march have taken place annually. For 2020, the Women's March leadership is focusing on electing more women into office.
March for Our Lives - 2018
When: March 24, 2018
Estimated attendance: 470,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators gathered in support of tighter gun control laws following a shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Impact: Gun safety became a key topic of conversation in the 2018 midterm elections, and March for Our Lives organizers highlight record youth turnout for the elections as a key achievement. Gun safety advocacy group Gifford's attributes the Trump Administration's ban on bump stocks, a device that allows semi-automatic guns to fire continuous rounds with the pull of a single trigger, at the end of 2018 to the awareness created by March for Our Lives.
Global Climate Strike - 2019
When: September 20, 2019
Estimated attendance:60,000-250,000
Reason for protest: Demonstrators gathered to demand urgent action to address climate change after July 2019 became the hottest month on record.
Impact: Climate activist Greta Thunberg and thousands of student activists skipped school to attend the Global Climate Strike, signaling to policymakers that youth in New York and around the world will not stand idly by and allow climate change to continue on its current course.