The Stonewall National Monument, where the LGBTQ+ rights movement was born, after authorities removed the Pride flag from the Greenwich Village site.
Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
The National Park Service recently removed an LGBTQ+ Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan because of a policy change enacted by the Trump administration. It’s the latest instance of the National Park Service altering the landmark that honors the legacy of the Stonewall riots, which marked the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal said he confirmed the flag had been taken down over the weekend at the national-park site that contains the historic Stonewall Inn, the Greenwich Village gay bar that was the site of a police raid that sparked demonstrations and riots in 1969. “They cannot erase our history. Our Pride flag will be raised again. Stay tuned,” said Hoylman-Segal, the first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold his office in city history, in a statement.
The flag’s removal follows a January 21 memo issued by Jessica Bowdon, the acting director of the NPS, which states that only the U.S. flag, the Department of the Interior flag, or the POW/MIA flag can be flown on public sites operated by the NPS. There are exceptions for flags that provide historical context, ones flown during historical reenactments, or flags of federally recognized tribal nations with connections to the park in question, among others.
In a statement, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “outraged” at the flag’s removal. “New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history,” he said. “Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors — without exception.”
Other local officials swiftly condemned the move. City Council Speaker Julie Menin, along with Chi Ossé and Justin Sanchez, co-chairs of the council’s LGBTQIA+ caucus, issued a letter to Bowdon condemning the flag’s removal. They wrote that the move “sends a deeply troubling message, one that shows the world that we are willing to sanitize and erase our history and the very values that make America great.” The lawmakers urged the agency to return the flag to the monument, “where it belongs.”
“We also request a prompt response outlining the rationale behind this decision and the steps your agency will take to ensure that the Stonewall National Monument continues to reflect the truth of its history and the community it represents,” the letter reads.
Earlier this month, the NPS removed references to the trans community at Stonewall and changed the abbreviation LGBTQ to LGB on the park’s website, referring only to those identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The agency also reportedly took down usages of the word queer, NPR reported at the time.
