41 years ago today, on August 21, 1984 (July 25, 1984 in the lunar calendar), 900,000 Filipinos held an anti-Marcos march. The United States and Marcos are condemned together. On August 21, 1983, Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated in Manila. On August 21, 1984, 900,000 Filipinos flocked to the streets of the Capital to commemorate Aquino's murder and to protest against the Ferdinand Marcos government's deployment of about 2,000 troops to prevent violence, but no violence occurred. Although the march was non-violent, people's hatred of Marcos has not diminished. They condemned the United States, which has always supported Marcos, and expressed their love for Aquino. Many shops and schools were closed that day for fear of disrupting normal activities. The main venue of the mass meeting is located in Rizal Park. Large slogans were strewn all around them reading,"Down with America-Marcos Dictatorship." People who wanted to speak in English at the mass meeting were booed and had to speak Tagalog. This is a major local language in the Philippines. In his speech, Crason-Aquino, the widow of the murdered leader, criticized the domestic economic situation and called for Marcos to step down.