It is being an intense week for New York City. …and it was again this Thursday. The Administration Trump removed it from Stonewall National Monumentin the Greenwich Village neighborhood, cradle of the fight for collective rights. Now, officials in the Democratic-governed city have raised it again, in a direct gesture of defiance to the president.
“We have prevailed. Our flag represents dignity and human rights,” stated Brad Hoylman-Sigalpresident of the Manhattan district where Stonewall is located, after relocating it.
It had been removed following the guidelines of a memorandum promoted by Donald Trump’s own Administration, which sought to “provide guidance on policies and procedures for the display and raising of flags and banners.” In its place the flag of USA. Right now they both wave at the same time.
Stonewall, global symbol
Stonewall is a symbol. A historic place.
On June 28, 1969, A police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a nightclub in the area, triggered several days of citizen protests that marked the beginning of the modern movement for LGTBIQ+ rights. Since then, Every June 28th the
The replacement of the flag was not a spontaneous act. The Democratic authorities had already announced their intention to raise it again, which brought together hundreds or thousands, according to local media, of people at the event. “So Trump wants to take down our flag. Forward. We have a million more to hoist”one of the attendees told Reuters, Nichole Mallete.
The response from the Department of the Interior did not take long to arrive. They described the action as a “political maneuver” and they added: “This staging demonstrates how totally incompetent and out of touch New York City officials are with respect to the problems facing the city.”
Citizens crowded on Stonewall to see the raising of the LGTBIQ+ flag
The episode is a new chapter in. In this second term he has intensified his agenda against LGTBIQ+ rights, with the signing of a dozen executive orders that directly affect the community.
The measures directed against trans people are being especially harsh.. Among them, the veto in sports competitions, the obstacles to the recognition of their identity in official documents, the pressure to eliminate labor initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion or the withdrawal of books on diversity in public and academic libraries, among others.
