Connexion
Trump admin removes Pride flag from Stonewall monument in “deliberate act of erasure”
The National Park Service (NPS) has removed the rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument, saying it did so in adherence with “government-wide guidance.”
The NPS confirmed the removal of the flag to Gay City News, explaining that “only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions.”
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“Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance,” the statement continued. “Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”
Of course, the site is significant for the uprising that took place there in 1969, which became a major catalyst for the global LGBTQ+ rights movement.
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The New York City monument is the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, having been designated as such in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. It then became tradition for the monument, located in a park across the street from the Stonewall Inn, to be adorned with various Pride flags, including the trans flag. Until Trump took office, NPS funded the installation of these flags.
Local queer leaders slammed the flag’s removal in a joint statement. “This is a deliberate act of erasure,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D), state Senator Erik Bottcher (D), and former Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D). “The Pride Flag is history, resistance, and Pride born at Stonewall itself. Taking it down does not diminish our community. It exposes an administration afraid of visibility and truth. Our history will not be erased, and our Pride is not theirs to take down.”
The move comes after the administration has already spent the past year trying to erase pieces of Stonewall history.
Last February, NPS removed all mentions of transgender people from its webpage on Stonewall to comply with Trump’s executive orders prohibiting any federal recognition of trans people in any aspect of civic life. It subsequently removed references to bisexual people, too.
Numerous federal webpages began removing mentions of trans people and gender identity after a January 29 directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) telling federal agencies to “end federal funding of gender ideology” in programming, policies, and outward-facing media. The directive reflects Republicans’ larger crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts by government bodies and private businesses.
Steven Love Menendez, an NPS flag caretaker, told Gay City News that removing the Pride flag is “a hateful and petty act from a hateful administration.”
“They have no idea what the meaning of love and community is. They are hellbent on harming as many marginalized groups as they possibly can. They have no compassion, kindness, or soul.”
He wondered why the Pride flag would not count as a “limited exception” for a monument focused on LGBTQ+ rights, given the administration’s guidance says that exemptions to its rules include flags that “provide historical context.”
Before the most recent Pride flag’s removal, the administration had already banned the Trans Pride flag and the Progress Pride flag from flying at the monument. The first Trump administration also directed efforts at keeping the Pride flag away from Stonewall.
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