Davenport's civil rights movement drew significant support from the local Catholic community, including the Catholic Diocese of Davenport and St. Anthony's Parish. Many parish members joined the Catholic Interfaith Council and attended civil rights events. One of the movement's most important events began here on August 23, 1963, when the Catholic Interfaith Council and other organizations gathered close to 2,000 marchers as a prelude to the August 28 Civil Rights Rally in Washington, D.C. Some marchers came down Main Street's hill from other churches to join those in the parking lot. The participants marched from Main Street to 2nd Street and then to Ripley, where they met additional marchers, before walking to LeClaire Park's band shell for the main rally. This march and rally helped convince Iowa's legislature to pass a fair employment practices law, and the march also served as a prelude to the famous August 28, 1963 March on Washington, D.C., which included five local marchers.