"Days after the Trump administration oversaw the removal of a Pride flag from the Stonewall national monument, officials in New York City again raised the flag at the historic site. A large crowd gathered near the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan's Greenwich Village to see it return to the space where, in 1969, the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement was ignited. Nearly six decades ago, police raided the popular gay bar, and set off an uprising that, as the Library of Congress notes, would fundamentally change the discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ activism in the US."
"But the flag was removed over the weekend in response to a recent memo from the interior department that stated only US flags, agency flags and the POW/MIA flag are allowed at parks, although there are some exceptions for flags that provide historical context. The agency said in a statement to the Guardian this week that policy governing flag displays on federal property has been in place for decades, and recent guidance clarifies how that longstanding policy is applied consistently across NPS-managed sites."
"The move sparked outrage in the city, withZohran Mamdani, the mayor, calling it an act of erasure. This decision sends a deeply troubling message, one that shows the world that we are willing to sanitize and erase our history and the very values that make America great, Julie Menin, the speaker of New York's city council, and councilmembers Chi Osse and Justin Sanchez wrote in a letter to the National Parks Service. The city council on Thursday passed a resolution urging Congress to respect the history and significance of Stonewall and other national sites. Hours later, New York officials returned a Pride flag to the mast at Stonewall where it flew alongside the American flag."
Federal guidance limited flags at parks to US, agency, and POW/MIA banners, with narrow historical exceptions, prompting removal of a Pride flag from the Stonewall national monument. The Stonewall site draws large crowds and marks the 1969 uprising that helped shape modern LGBTQ+ activism. City officials and council leaders condemned the removal as erasure and urged Congress to respect Stonewall's history and significance. New York officials later returned a Pride flag to the mast at Stonewall, where it flew alongside the American flag, and local leaders celebrated the restoration as a defense of dignity and human rights.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]