Haitians shut the Brooklyn Bridge over the FDA blood ban

Early in 1990 the Food and Drug Administration told blood banks to refuse donations from Haitians, naming them a high-risk group for AIDS. On 20 April 1990 the community answered in the street. Marchers set out from Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn toward Wall Street and shut the Brooklyn Bridge for the afternoon, chanting against the FDA and singing La Dessalinienne. The Washington Post counted 50,000; Haitian outlets put the crowd at up to 100,000. The march was called by Haitian Enforcement Against Racism, a coalition of churches, students and community groups. The FDA reversed the policy that year.