Calls for Pride Progress flag to be raised at Stonewall Monument

"The National Park Service, the agency which oversees many national monuments across the US, said the decision to remove the Pride flag was taken by Trump administration following the implementation of a memorandum that stipulated only certain flags can be flown in public spaces where the National Park Service is responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, and operation of the flag and flagpole."

"The site was officially awarded national monument status in 2016 by then-president Barack Obama and commemorates the historic 1969 riot outside the Stonewall Inn, an LGBTQ+ venue, which was led by trans women of colour in the early days of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights."

"Following the Gilbert Baker's rainbow flag returning to its rightful place outside the Stonewall Inn, some have suggested it should instead have been replaced with the Pride Progress flag - a flag which is inclusive of intersex, trans and LGBTQ+ people of colour."

The Trump administration removed the Pride flag flying at Stonewall National Monument, a site commemorating the 1969 uprising led by trans women of color that sparked the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The National Park Service cited a memorandum restricting flags at national monuments to the US flag, Department of Interior flag, and POW/MIA flag. The local LGBTQ+ community and New York City officials quickly reinstated the Pride flag on February 12, with legislation proposed to ensure its permanent display and a lawsuit filed against the administration. Following the flag's return, advocates have suggested replacing it with the Pride Progress flag, designed by intersex activist Valentino Vecchietti in 2021 to better represent intersex, trans, and LGBTQ+ people of color.

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