Transgender reference removed from Stonewall National Monument website
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The National Park Service removed the reference to the transgender community on the Stonewall National Monument's website.
The change came after President Donald Trump's executive order to recognize only two genders.
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'I was personally offended, deeply offended, that the National Park Service would go so far as to align themselves with Donald Trump's anti-trans rhetoric,' said Angelica Christina, board member of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. 'The Stonewall Inn is a beacon of hope for the LGBTQIA-plus community, going back to the Stonewall riots.'
The Stonewall Riots were sparked by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village. The rough treatment from police led to six days of protests and clashes with law enforcement. The events were pivotal in the gay rights movement in the United States. Both gay and transgender patrons fought back against police during the riots.
On Sunday, the website still had references to transgender and queer references.
'Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal, but the events at the Stonewall Inn sparked fresh momentum for the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement,' read a snapshot from the WayBack Machine taken on Sunday.
By Thursday, the letters 'T' and 'Q' were cut from various references to the acronym LGBTQ and replaced with phrases like the 'LGB rights movement' or 'LGB civil rights,' according to the website.
'Right now, we need to let our voices be heard,' said Stacy Lentz, an LGBTQ+ advocate and co-owner of the Stonewall Inn. 'We need to call on all Democrats to stand up and protect the trans community. The one thing we can't do right now is just roll over and let trans people be erased from public life, and so as a community, I know that we're all going to come together and fight like crazy.'
Former President Barack Obama formally recognized the Stonewall site as a national monument on June 24, 2016, making it the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, The Hill reported.
The National Parks Service did not immediately respond to PIX11's request for comment.
This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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