GLAAD joined over 1,000 people on Friday, February 14 at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City’s West Village to protest the Trump Administration’s removal of transgender and queer Americans from the Stonewall National Monument official government website.
The online announcement for the protest described its purpose: “NO LGB WITHOUT THE T. The Trump Administration has erased trans people from the stonewall national monument website… we will not allow Trump and his hatemongers to redefine our communities or our history!”
The rally lasted for over an hour and was hosted by Jay W. Walker, a co-founder of the Reclaim Pride Coalition. The lineup included a diverse array of speakers from the community.
Erik Bottcher, NYC City Council Member for District 3 and a relentless advocate for LGBTQ people, addressed the crowd: “We are here to send a message to Donald Trump: We will not let you erase the existence of our trans siblings. We will not let you cleave our community apart and divide us. We are one community. And now is the time for gays and lesbians and cisgender members of our community to stand up against what is happening. … We will win, because we always win in the end.”
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Dr. Carla Smith, the CEO of the New York City LGBTQ Community Center, located just a few minutes’ walk from the historic site, also spoke at the rally and emphasized that our community can always access www.StonewallForever.org – a digital archive for all to see and know our history that will never go away. She said in part: “Our history exists with our trans siblings having ALWAYS led the way. That cannot be erased.”
State Senator Brad Holyman, also a longtime advocate for the local LGBTQ community in New York City, spoke similarly on the importance of retaining our stories. “We need to make sure transgender history remains American history,” he said in his remarks.
Angelica Christina, trans activist and board member of the Stonewall Gives Back Initiative, gave a moving speech reminding us of tireless trans leaders who have been in this fight before, like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson; and urging support for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans. “Trans people have always been at the forefront and on the frontlines,” she said. “What we’re seeing play out in real time by this administration … is criminalizing trans people for existing and decriminalizing the real criminals like Donald Trump.” She called on the National Park Service to immediately restore the accurate website language. “Trans people exist. We are not going anywhere. We will continue to fight for our rights, so the legacy of our transcestors will remain in the universe. Silence is complicity. … We will not go back. I see you. We uplift you, we love you, we will fight for you.”
Cathy Marino Thomas, a grassroots activist during the fight for the freedom to marry and now a board member of Gilbert Baker Foundation, inspired the crowd by reminding us of Baker’s words when he created the original Pride flag in 1987. “The rainbow is a symbol of harmony, and if we eliminate any color from the rainbow flag, we destroy the integrity of the rainbow. So too, with the family of man. If we eliminate any one group, or gender, or race, or anyone for whatever reason, we destroy the integrity of the family of man.”
The crowd regularly burst out into cheers and chants: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” “When trans lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Activists like Marti Gould Cummings, a board member of Equality New York, urged Democrats in Washington, DC to use their platform to take bolder action. “It is because of our trans elders that we are here,” they said. “This legislation removing trans people from a park is a distraction. We are here to tell trans kids that they are worth it; that they deserve to grow into trans adults … We cannot have another Nex Benedict,” they said, referring to the trans and indigenous teenager from Oklahoma who died after being assaulted in a school restroom and lacking any support from Oklahoma’s conservative leadership or superintendent of public schools.
Jason Rosenberg of the Gender Liberation Movement led the crowd in a chant: “Democrats, have a spine; trans lives are on the line.”
Stacy Lentz, the co-owner of the Stonewall Inn bar across the street from the monument and the CEO of the Stonewall Gives Back Initiative, immediately blasted the Trump administration for its actions shortly after the news broke.
“This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals — especially transgender women of color — who were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots and the broader fight for LGBTQ+ rights,” she said in a statement.
“Let us be clear: Stonewall is transgender history. Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and countless other trans and gender-nonconforming individuals fought bravely, and often at great personal risk, to push back against oppressive systems. Their courage, sacrifice, and leadership were central to the resistance we now celebrate as the foundation of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.”
The Stonewall Inn bar is the site of the 1969 riots that launched the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Stonewall National Monument is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and history. President Barack Obama designated it as a national monument on June 24, 2016 during LGBTQ+ Pride month.
In addition, the Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center, an independent and queer owned non-profit venue located across the street from the Stonewall National Monument – owned by Pride Live and unaffiliated with the monument or National Park Service – slammed the change by the Trump administration to the agency’s website:
“Pride Live is a non-profit organization founded on the principle of advancing the fight for full LGBTQIA+ equality. Through the creation of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, we’re unwavering in our effort to protect and preserve Stonewall’s legacy and history. Our space is inextricably linked with and honors the brave pioneers, especially transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, who led the Stonewall Rebellion.
The anti-LGBTQ action from the National Park Service is the latest in a list of anti-LGBTQ actions from the Trump Administration. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order targeting LGBTQ Americans around what he described as “gender ideology extremism.”
The opening text of the Stonewall National Monument website used to read: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGBTQ+ civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.” What used to be correctly listed as LGBTQ+ was changed to ‘LGB’. “Transgender or queer” were removed along with the “TQ+” part of the LGBTQ+ acronym from the opening text as well as a link to a resource on ‘LGBTQ+ flags.’
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