NYC officials to re-raise Pride flag at Stonewall following federal removal
Key Facts
- The Pride flag was removed from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan.
- The removal followed a January Trump administration memo restricting flags at National Park Service sites.
- NYC Council members sent a letter to acting NPS Director Jessica Bowron on Tuesday demanding the flag's return.
- Local officials plan to re-raise the flag on Thursday.
- The federal guidance allows exemptions for flags providing historical context.
- Mentions of transgender people were removed from the NPS Stonewall website last year.
New York City officials announced they will re-raise the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument this Thursday, following its removal by the National Park Service (NPS). The removal was conducted under a January federal memo from the Trump administration that limits the types of flags permitted at NPS-managed sites. The flag was previously displayed outside the monument, which is recognized as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other council members sent a letter on Tuesday to acting NPS Director Jessica Bowron urging the agency to restore the flag. State Senator Erik Bottcher criticized the move, calling the removal "a deliberate act of erasure." Local officials indicated they intend to proceed with re-raising the flag regardless of the federal guidance.
The January memo includes narrow exemptions for non-agency flags that "provide historical context" or are part of "historic reenactments." This policy change follows the removal of mentions of transgender people from the NPS Stonewall website last year. LGBTQ+ advocates have expressed concern that these actions represent a broader effort to remove the community's history from public government sites.
Historical Context
The Stonewall National Monument commemorates the 1969 uprising that began the modern gay rights movement. Transgender people, specifically women of color, are documented as having played central roles in the uprising, though their mentions were removed from the official National Park Service website for the site last year.
Perspective Analysis
Sources: Axios · Washington Post · Politico · The Hill
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