The National Park Service (NPS) removed a large Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, the launch site of the modern LGBT movement.
“Recent guidance clarifies how that longstanding policy is applied consistently across NPS-managed sites,” according to a statement from the agency. “Under government-wide guidance, including General Services Administration policy and Department of the Interior direction, only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions. Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”
Former President Barack Obama designated the site as a national monument in 2016. “I’m designating the Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America’s National Park System. Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights,” he said at the time. “I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country, the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us. That we are stronger together. That out of many, we are one.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the Pride flag’s removal. “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history,” he wrote on X.
“Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it,” he added. “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.”
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, along with the Co-Chairs of the Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, Council Members Chi Ossé and Justin Sanchez, sent a letter to the Trump administration, urging the NPS to restore the Pride flag.
