With thousands of participants, the majority of whom are youth, the protest is the largest and longest-running Armenian Genocide recognition assembly comprised of young Armenians in the United States. It also attracts large-scale media coverage from major television and print news outlets throughout the country.
The demonstration is a symbolic focal point for the community and represents the AYF’s year-long struggle to gain proper recognition and restitution for the crime of genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government. The AYF is at the forefront of the international campaign demanding recognition and justice for the Armenian Genocide.
Currently, the AYF is a member of the Armenian Genocide Committee (AGC), a collective of 20 Armenian organizations that has organized a community-wide protest on April 24th in front of the Turkish Consulate annually since 2015. On the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, over 166,000 participated in the march organized by the AGC and took to the streets to commemorate the genocide and demand reparations from the Republic of Turkey. This became one of the largest protests in Los Angeles’ history.