The Government of the American president, , removed a large LGTBI flag that was flying at the National Monument in New York, in front of the iconic bar of the same name that gave rise to the modern movement for collective rights.
The decision to remove the flag comes after the Department of the Interior (DOI) indicated in a memo last January that the National Park Service (NPS) can only fly flags approved by Congress.
Among the permitted flags are the United States, the DOI and the POW/MIA, which symbolizes prisoners of war and those missing in action in the US armed forces.
Stacy Lentz, one of the bar’s owners, criticized the removal of the flag in an interview with and stated that it “is not just an abstract symbol,” but also tells LGBTI people “that their history will no longer be relegated to the background.”
“His story will no longer be relegated to the background”
Lentz added that the concern does not necessarily lie in the symbolism of the flag but in the decisions that are made “when the narrative is not controlled by those who have lived that history.”
“Deeply outrageous”
The leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, , also condemned the Government’s decision in a statement sent to the press in which he said that the removal of this symbol “is a deeply outrageous action that must be reversed immediately.”
Schumer highlighted the “emblematic” character of Stonewall, considered the cradle of the modern movement for LGTBI rights, and assured that New Yorkers “will take care” of ensuring that the flag flies again in the square.
For her part, the president of the New York municipal legislature, Julie Menin, affirmed that Stonewall is “holy ground” and described the removal of the flag as a “deliberate and cowardly” attempt to erase its history.
And the city’s new mayor, the Democrat, has also posted a message on his social media in which he writes: “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from the Stonewall National Monument. New York is the cradle of the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights, and no act of suppression will ever change or silence that history.”
“Our city – he continues – has a duty not only to honor this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends its dignity and protects all our neighbors, without exception.”
Add and continue
Last year, the National Park Service already removed the words “trans” and “queer” from the page dedicated to the Stonewall monument, a decision widely criticized by community activists.
The history of Stonewall dates back to June 28, 1969, when it was the scene of massive protests against police repression of LGTBI people.
These demonstrations gave the movement for the rights of the group and established that date as LGTBI Pride Day.
In 2016, former Democratic President Barack Obama declared the Stonewall Inn bar, the park in front of it and several nearby streets a national monument.
