On Feb. 9, the Trump administration removed an LGBTQ+ Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York following new restrictive policies regarding what flags can be flown on National Park sites.
The “One Flag Policy” states that as of Jan. 21, only the U.S. flag and other federally approved flags can be displayed on the National Park Service’s flag poles. According to The New York Times, the flag was removed quietly overnight, as employees of the Stonewall Inn noticed its absence when they arrived the next morning.
Several nonprofit groups in New York, including the advocacy organization Equality New York, have filed a lawsuit with the argument that the flag’s removal was an act of discrimination rather than one of law. They believe the removal of a Pride flag from an LGBTQ+ rights monument is too specific to simply be about flag neutrality laws.
“It doesn’t make sense to stop someone from being able to represent themselves in a place that represents them and their history,” said Madelyn Rodriguez, a senior psychology major and former president of the GCSU Pride Alliance. “Even without the flag, their history still exists there, so what’s the point?”
On Feb. 12, hundreds of people gathered at the monument to watch protesters raise a replacement Pride flag. Despite the federal policy dictating neutrality, New Yorkers remain adamant that LGBTQ+ history is important and should be represented openly.
The Department of the Interior, a Cabinet-level agency within the executive branch that protects and manages the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage, referred to the protest as “political pageantry” and accused the New York officials and representatives in attendance of being “utterly incompetent and misaligned” with the other problems going on in the city.
The Stonewall National Monument is the United States’ first national monument to LGBTQ+ rights. The Stonewall Inn is the landmark of the three-day-long riots that took place in 1969, fighting systemic police brutality against queer people. It is widely considered to be the birthplace of LGBTQ+ rights in America.
The Pride flag is a representation of the struggles of queer people in America. It’s a monument to the adversity and discrimination queer people have overcome and a symbol of the community they find with one another through the united historical struggle for equal rights and representation.
“[The Pride flag] is truly a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community as well as a representation of queer people,” Rodriguez said. “It doesn’t make sense why [Trump] would need to take that down other than to just try and ignore its existence.”
Critics say the decision reflects the administration’s broader policies regarding LGBTQ+ issues. Lillian Crooks, a freshman political science major and a member of the GCSU Pride Alliance, believes this incident to be an act of erasure.
“My generation grew up in a period marked by historic landmarks for queer rights and visibility,” Crooks said. “As it currently stands, there have been landmark cases to revoke the rights of minorities under the current administration, as well as the first Trump administration, and it scares me.”
In addition to social concerns, the Pride flag’s removal has prompted a great deal of debate across the country about whether federal sites should adhere to neutral flag policies. The intention behind the policy is national uniformity and neutrality, but many believe flags represent the freedom of expression and should be unregulated.
“It makes sense for there to be regulations on what flags can be flown where, especially on federal grounds protected by the national government,” Crooks said. “However, Stonewall is a historical monument and not related to the central U.S. Government.”
Because Stonewall National Monument falls under the category of National Park Sites, as designated by former President Barack Obama in 2016, it is technically in the jurisdiction of the policy. However, Crooks believes that the flag’s direct connection to the history and values that the monument represents warrants its position there.
“Flying the Pride flag on Stonewall is a form of political speech, and is protected under the First Amendment,” Crooks said.
Others argue that the flag being flown over the monument is important for the recognition it brings to the social injustices overcome by those who rioted at Stonewall.
“As someone who studies social movements, [Stonewall] is a social movement that is very important to our history because it liberated people, and in my opinion, moved people toward more justice,” said Sandra Godwin, a Professor of Sociology. “That is something that should be able to be celebrated.”
Students wishing to learn more or discuss this topic further should attend the GCSU Pride Alliance meetings, which are held every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Blackbridge Hall.