This morning, I opened social media to find my feed flooded with photos and videos showing hundreds of people rallying for the LGBTQ+ community.
Why did they, once again, have to protest? This time, because the Trump Administration ordered that the Pride flag hanging at the Stonewall National Monument be taken down. This is what the president is concerned about right now?
The monument sits outside New York City’s Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village, home to one of the most pivotal moments in LGBTQ+ history. The inn is both a gay bar and a National Historic Landmark.
In June 1969, the bar was raided by police, setting off a series of riots and sparking the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The monument, now without its flag, is a national symbol commemorating the start of the movement. The anniversary is celebrated every year, even though you might not realize it. One year after Stonewall, the first-ever Pride Month was created and celebrated.
The Stonewall Inn was, and is, not only an important location, but also an important symbol for the community. Stonewall is a place for people to be seen and understood in a world that won’t accept them.
Now, the pole once holding the flag commemorating one of the biggest moments in LGBTQ+ history lies bare. Just another symbol of how empty it is when the community is silenced. Or rather, attempted to be silenced.
And how did the administration back up this action? A memorandum from the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, states that only U.S., agency and POW/MIA flags are allowed at parks.
Absurd would be an understatement.
But while the flag was quietly removed, the response was loud.
The New York Times reported that elected officials, as well as bar employees, noticed the flag’s absence on Monday morning. And by Tuesday night, an estimated 500-700 people were gathered, as reported by The Advocate.
Leading the protest was New York City resident and activist Jay Walker. Walker created and shared a flyer immediately after hearing about the flag’s removal, and in just six hours, about 500 were in the park.
That speed showed that “our community just won’t stand for attacks against us,” Walker told The Advocate. It’s once again a reminder that the community can’t, and won’t, be silenced.
The recently elected New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, fired back at Trump’s order as well. Mamdani called the removal “an act of erasure,” according to The Advocate.
If the Trump Administration takes nothing else away from this response, they should at least remember that someone will always fight back for what they believe in.
So while Trump removed a flag, he can’t remove an entire community.
