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LGBTQ+ - In a highly visible rebuke of federal policy, New York elected officials and LGBTQ+ activists raised a rainbow Pride flag Thursday at the Stonewall National Monument, days after the National Park Service removed the symbol under new Trump administration guidance limiting which flags may fly on federal property.
More than a hundred supporters gathered in Christopher Park in Greenwich Village, across the street from the historic Stonewall Inn, chanting “Raise it up!” as Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal helped hoist the Pride flag alongside the American flag.
“If you can’t fly a Pride flag steps from Stonewall — the national monument for LGBTQ liberation — where can you fly it?” Hoylman-Sigal said. “So we put it back.”
The Pride flag had flown for several years at the monument, which commemorates the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn — widely considered the catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The monument was designated in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama as the nation’s first national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
Federal Guidance Sparks Controversy
The flag was removed earlier this week following a Jan. 21 National Park Service memo restricting federally flown flags primarily to the U.S. flag, Department of the Interior flag, and POW/MIA flag, with limited exceptions. Interior Department officials said the change ensures consistency with federal policy and dismissed Thursday’s re-raising as “political pageantry.”
“Recent adjustments to flag displays at the monument were made to ensure consistency with federal guidance,” an Interior spokesperson said, adding that Stonewall “remains committed to preserving and interpreting the history and significance of this site.”
Advocates, however, view the removal as part of a broader rollback of LGBTQ+ recognition at federal sites. They point to recent revisions to Stonewall’s official materials that reduced references to transgender individuals and other changes affecting diversity initiatives across federal agencies.
“The new administration is attempting to strip away symbols of our history and identity,” longtime activist Ken Kidd said. “Stonewall is sacred ground.”
A Symbol Beyond a Flag
After the initial re-raising, activists briefly repositioned the Pride flag so it would fly on the same pole and rope as the American flag, rather than lower on a separate staff — a symbolic gesture underscoring that LGBTQ+ history is inseparable from American history.
Local protesters described the moment as one of unity and defiance.
“This is New York,” one attendee said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
New York Democratic leaders, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, criticized the removal. Advocates have pledged to restore the flag again if it is taken down.
A National Debate
The dispute at Stonewall reflects a larger national debate over the role of symbols, public lands, and how American history is interpreted at federally managed sites. The Trump administration has said it aims to eliminate displays it considers “divisive or partisan” while emphasizing uniformity in federal facilities.
For LGBTQ+ advocates, however, Stonewall is not a partisan symbol — it is the birthplace of a civil rights movement.
“This is our park,” said activist Michael Hisey. “People from around the world come here to see where it all began.”
For now, the Pride flag is flying again over Christopher Park — though federal officials have indicated that the National Park Service will continue adhering to its current guidance.
Whether the symbol remains aloft may ultimately depend not just on flag policy, but on the ongoing tug-of-war between federal authority and local resistance over how America tells its own story.
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