New York — The Trump administration agreed Monday to continue flying the rainbow Pride flag in Stonewall National MonumentIt reversed course after the sign was removed in February.
The government revealed the decision as it seeks to achieve it Settlement of lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups Who sought to prevent the removal. A judge must still approve the agreement.
According to court papers, the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service “affirmed their intent to preserve the Stonewall Pride Flag.” It will only be removed for “maintenance or other practical purposes.”
Under the agreement, within a week, the Park Service will hang three flags on the Stonewall Monument’s flagpole — each measuring three feet by five feet. The Pride flag will fly between the American flag and the Park Service flag.
The Pride flag has become a flashpoint for controversies over the president Donald Trump Approach “Stonewall” — the first national monument commemorating LGBTQ+ history — and several other historic properties.
After a A campaign that lasted for years By activists who wanted to The flag that symbolizes LGBTQ+ pride They will be transported daily within the site managed by the park service The sign has been officially installed In 2022, under a Democratic Pres Joe Biden Term of office.
At the time, New York Park Service officials described the display as a sign of the government’s commitment to “telling the complex and diverse history of all Americans.”
But in February, the park service Remove flagin what the agency explained as compliance with federal guidelines on flag display. A park service memo issued Jan. 21 largely restricts the agency to displaying the U.S., Department of the Interior, and POW/MIA flags, with exceptions that include providing “historical context.”
The park service insisted that the memorial “remains committed to preserving and interpreting the history and significance of this site” through various exhibits and programs. But LGBTQ+ activists saw the flag’s removal as a targeted insult meant to belittle the site, which is about their fight for rights and visibility.
Advocates and some Democratic elected officials in New York showed up soon after with another rainbow flag — and after heated moments in which politicians seemed content to leave it on a separate, low pole — I raised it Next to the American flag installed by the park service.
Democratic President Barack Obama He created the Stonewall Monument In 2016. The memorial is centered in a small park across the street The Stonewall Innthe gay bar where a 1969 police raid sparked and helped spur an uprising The modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
After Trump, a Republican, returned to office last year, he targeted Trump Diversity, equity and inclusion Initiatives and Protection for transgender people. As one of the results of his policies, Many references to transgender people It has been removed from the memorial’s website and materials.
Likewise, the Trump administration has put national parks, museums, and monuments under a messaging microscope, aiming to achieve its goals to remove Or change the materials Which the government says is “divisive or partisan” Or “inappropriately disparaging Americans.”