The US National Park Service (NPS) has removed the ‘T’ from the ‘LGBTQ+’ acronym and all references to transgender people from the official Stonewall National Monument website. The monument, located in Greenwich Village, is the first NPS site dedicated to acknowledging the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.
Additionally, the term ‘queer’ has also been eliminated from the website and “Q+” removed from the acronym, following the initial deletion of the ‘T’. The changes appear to align with the Trump administration’s stance of recognising only two genders – male and female as assigned at birth.
As of Wednesday, February 12, the site’s introduction read: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal.”
By Thursday, it had been revised to: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.”
LGBTQ+ activists have condemned the move. Organisers at the Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative issued a statement, calling the changes “a blatant act of erasure that distorts the truth of our history”. They highlighted the critical role of transgender individuals, especially transgender women of colour, who led the Stonewall Riots and the wider LGBTQ+ rights movement.
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul voiced her outrage on social media, labelling the action “cruel and petty.” She reiterated New York’s commitment to celebrating and honouring the contributions of transgender individuals to the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The Stonewall Inn also played a key role during the George Floyd protests in June 2020, serving as the starting point for a march in support of Black trans lives. This march was followed by the largest-ever demonstration for Black trans lives held in Brooklyn later that month.
Former President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall site as a national monument in 2016. Many see the recent changes to the Stonewall National Monument website as an attempt to undermine the historical significance of the site and erase the contributions of marginalised groups within the LGBTQ+ community.
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