The Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee was formed in New York City in September 1965 in response to a call issued by David Dellinger, editor of Liberation magazine, and Norma Becker, a school teacher, in order to plan local events for the October 15-16 First International Days of Protest. Composed of over 80 groups and numerous individuals prominent in the anti-war movement, the committee was what Fred Halstead, a historian of the movement, has termed “the most broadly representative united front-type coalition on the left to develop in New York in decades.” The committee's first effort--a march down Fifth Avenue and a mass rally--attracted a crowd of over 25,000 which was then considered a successful showing for an anti-war demonstration, and as a result the group was encouraged to organize on a more permanent basis. By the end of 1966 the coalition included over 150 organizations and was generally acknowledged to be the largest and most important local anti-war group in the country. As a result of its policy of organizing around specific events rather than policies or programs and the conciliatory leadership of its first chairman, A. J. Muste, the committee was able to successfully coordinate its diverse membership for several years.
In addition to participation in local protests, the committee also organized the New York contingent of various national activities such as the March to End the War in Vietnam on April 15, 1967, and the March on Washington, on November 15, 1969. To plan these activities it worked closely with national organizations including the November 8 Mobilization Committee and the Spring and National Mobilization Committees to End the War in Vietnam.
