While World Bank and International Monetary Fund representatives met in Washington in the last days of September 2002 to discuss multilateral lending policy, 2000 protesters took to the street in the nation's capital to draw attention to their concerns which included:
- the effect of IMF and World Bank policy on indebted developing nations
- environmental destruction by fossil fuel industries
- tax payer subsidies for those industries
- privatization of natural resources, including water
- tobacco privatization
- rainforest destruction
- sweatshop labor and related clothing outlets
- the need for more global AIDS research
- the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- globalization in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East economies
- the Bush administration's threat of war against Iraq

Third world film screening and speakers, an attempt by protesters to "shut down Washington" by blocking traffic, an act to symbolically "quarantine" the World Bank and IMF headquarters by disallowing personnel from leaving, along with peaceful anti-war demonstrations and interfaith evening vigils marked the week. On Friday, September 27, the day the protesters announced they would disrupt traffic, 649 people were arrested as local and federal police overwhelmed and outnumbered protesters. Saturday's rally ended with several thousand participants marching from Washington Square to the International Monetary Fund headquarters. Marchers complied with permits and there were few arrests on Saturday.