Transgender Flags Banned at Stonewall Monument
The National Park Service barred transgender and Progress Pride flags from the historic LGBTQ monument.
In another swipe at the transgender community, the national monument honoring what is widely seen as the seminal event of the modern LGBTQ rights movement has erased all mention of transgender and queer people.
Each June, the Stonewall National Monument in New York City typically decorates the fence surrounding Christopher Park — the small park adjacent to the historic Stonewall Inn and part of the official monument — with various Pride flags.
In past years, the display has featured a mix of flags — the familiar six-stripe rainbow Pride flag, the blue, pink, and white transgender Pride flag, and the “Progress” flag, which adds stripes for Black and brown communities and a chevron design incorporating transgender and intersex Pride colors.
But this year, the National Park Service has removed transgender and Progress Pride flags from the monument — a move that mirrors broader Trump-era efforts to erase transgender visibility, roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across government, academia, and the private sector, and discourage acknowledgment of “woke” concepts such as centering the struggles of Black and brown communities.
Steven Love Menendez, a photographer and LGBTQ advocate who created and has been the caretaker of the flag display at Christopher Park, says that the National Park Service told him to only use the traditional six-stripe rainbow flag as part of the display. No other Pride flags would be accepted.
Steven Love Menendez, a photographer and LGBTQ advocate who created and has long maintained the flag display at Christopher Park, says the National Park Service instructed him to use only the traditional six-stripe rainbow flag this year. No other Pride flags would be accepted.
“It’s a terrible action for them to take,” Menendez told New York’s WCBS-TV.
The change follows the National Park Service’s removal of references to transgender and queer people from the Stonewall National Monument’s official website — a move LGBTQ advocates call a deliberate attempt to erase part of the community’s history. Menendez noted that even mentions and photos of him on the site have been edited to remove the “T” and “Q” from his title, now referring to him as an “LGB activist.”
Advocates acknowledge that there is an ongoing backlash against LGBTQ visibility more broadly in the United States and across the globe, and that conservatives can easily become so triggered by the presence of Pride flags that they attempt to ban or destroy symbols of the LGBTQ community, sometimes even resorting to violence. Even the Stonewall Monument itself was vandalized in 2023 and 2024 by passerby who took it upon themselves to steal flags from the display and break or rip them apart. Three men were arrested and charged in the 2023 incident.
Advocates acknowledge the growing backlash against LGBTQ visibility in the United States and worldwide — one in which even the presence of Pride flags can provoke attempts to ban, destroy, or incite violence. The Stonewall Monument itself was vandalized in both 2023 and 2024, with passersby stealing and tearing apart flags from the display. Three men were arrested and charged in connection with the 2023 incident.
Visitors opposed to the Park Service’s recent directive are bringing unauthorized Pride flags to the monument, hanging them on the fence or planting them in the ground around Christopher Park in protest.
Willa Kingsford, a tourist from Portland, called the ban on other Pride flags “absurd” and “petty.”
Jay Edinin, a Queens resident, brought his own transgender flag to the monument.
“I’m not going to stand by and watch us be erased from our own history, from our own communities, and from the visibility that we desperately need right now,” he said.
National Park Service workers at the site told WCBS they were not authorized to speak about the changes.
A spokesperson for the Park Service did not respond to a request for comment from Metro Weekly.
Read Next:
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.