New York landmarks to be lit pink, white and blue for Transgender Day of Visibility
New York state landmarks will be lit pink, white and blue — the colors of the transgender pride flag — Monday night in celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
A proclamation signed by the governor declares the day is meant to 'reaffirm our commitment to support, affirm and celebrate New York's transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary' people.
The 15 landmarks to be lit across the state include One World Trade Center in New York City; the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building in the capital city, Albany; Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in Tarrytown; and Niagara Falls.
'New York is proud to be the birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, with trailblazers like Marsha P. Johnson, whose courage and leadership sparked the fight for equality,' Hochul said in a news release Monday. 'While the Trump administration is attacking the existence of trans people through harmful policies and rhetoric, New York remains a beacon of hope and acceptance. On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the strength and resilience of the transgender community.'
Marsha P. Johnson was a longtime trans activist best known for her role in the 1969 Stonewall uprising and for her work supporting transgender women of color, particularly co-founding the trans advocacy group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.
In February, references to transgender and queer people were removed from the Stonewall National Monument's webpage, and 'LGBTQ+' was shortened to 'LGB' on the National Park Service's website. The changes came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the U.S. government would only recognize two unchangeable sexes, male and female.
'As one of the only LBGTQ+ members of the State Senate, and the Senator representing the historic Stonewall Inn, I often think about how I would not be the person I am today if not for the courageous trans women who sparked the modern LGBTQ rights movement right here in my district,' state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in the news release. 'The incessant attacks on the trans community by the federal government are deeply disturbing, but fortunately New York State has leaders who understand the importance of accepting people for who they are.'
Hochul's proclamation also dubbed New York a 'safe haven' for all transgender people, with the governor noting that it was the first state in the U.S. to issue statewide regulations prohibiting harassment and discrimination based on gender identity.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
'Not just a party:' World Pride celebrations end with defiant politics on display
After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday's parade, the final day of World Pride 2025 in the nation's capital kicked off on a more downbeat note. More than a thousand people gathered under grey skies Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally that will lead into a protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming fight under President Donald Trump 's second administration. 'This is not just a party,' Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance. 'This is a rally for our lives.' Smith acknowledged that international attendance numbers for the bi-annual World Pride were measurably down, with many potential attendees avoiding travel to the U.S. due to either fear of harassment or in protest of Trump's policies. 'That should disturb us and mobilize us,' Smith said. Over a thousand people cheered on LGBTQ+ activists taking the stage while waving both traditional Pride flags and flags representing transgender, bisexual, intersex and other communities. Many had rainbow glitter and rhinestones adorning their faces. They held signs declaring 'Fight back,' 'Gay is good,' 'Ban bombs not bathrooms' and 'We will not be erased.' Trump's campaign against transgender protections and oft-stated antipathy for drag shows have set the community on edge, with some hoping to see a renewed wave of street politics in response. 'Trans people just want to be loved. Everybody wants to live their own lives and I don't understand the problem with it all,' said Tyler Cargill, who came wearing an elaborate costume with a hat topped by a replica of the U.S. Capitol building. Wes Kincaid drove roughly 6 hours from Charlotte, North Carolina to attend this year. Sitting on a park bench near the reflecting pond, Kincaid said he made a point of attending this year, 'because it's more important than ever to show up for our community.' Reminders of the cuts to federal government programs were on full display, Sunday. One attendee waved a massive rainbow flag affixed on the same staff as a large USAID flag; another held a 'Proud gay federal worker' sign; and a third held an umbrella with the logos of various federal program facing cuts — including the PBS logo. Trump's anti-trans rhetoric had fueled fears of violence or protests targeting World Pride participants; at one point earlier this spring, rumors circulated that the Proud Boys were planning to disrupt this weekend's celebrations. Those concerns prompted organizers to install security fencing around the entire two-day street party on a multi-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue. But so far, the only clear act of aggression has been the vandalizing of a queer bar last week. Late Saturday night, there was a pair of violent incidents near Dupont Circle — one of the epicenters of the World Pride celebrations. Two juveniles were stabbed and a man was shot in the foot in separate incidents. The Metropolitan Police Department says it is not clear if either incident was directly related to World Pride.
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Telegraph
House of Lords removes ‘provocative' Pride flags from canteen
The House of Lords has removed Pride flags from its canteen following a complaint by a peer. At the start of June, the River Restaurant was decked out in the banners to celebrate the beginning of Pride month. However, among the banners used was the ' Progress Pride ' flag, which includes the colours of the trans movement and is seen by many as indicative of support for gender ideology – the idea that sex is a spectrum and that people can change their identity. Baroness Nicholson, a Tory peer, complained to the Lord Speaker, Lord McFall, and officials agreed that they should be taken down as they had not been sanctioned by the authorities. Similar flags were not displayed in the House of Commons canteen. Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at the Sex Matters charity, said the decision to display the flags was 'provocative and inappropriate', and that it was 'reassuring' they had been taken down. 'The baby blue and pink of trans activism, which features in the flag, signals support for a harmful fringe ideology that justifies a wide range of human rights abuses, including puberty blockers for minors, surgeries that leave people sterile, the placement of rapists in women's prisons, and the destruction of single-sex services and spaces,' she said. Critics advocate separating trans and gay rights The Progress Pride flag, designed in 2021, is replacing the traditional rainbow Pride flag in many venues. It includes an extra triangle of colour on the left hand side, made up of stripes including white, pink and light blue – the colours of the trans movement. But many critics say the trans rights movement should be decoupled entirely from the gay rights movement, using the phrase 'LGB without the T'. The flag also includes a yellow triangle with a purple circle to represent 'intersex' people – a classification which is rejected by many. On Wednesday, Lady Nicholson tweeted pictures of the flags in the River Restaurant, which were displayed over the cooked breakfast items on sale, on the social media platform X. When one user replied to say that they supported 'LGB without the T', she tweeted: 'Exactly.' The flags had been removed by Friday lunchtime, following Lady Nicholson's complaint to the Lord Speaker's Office. On Friday, she tweeted: 'The superb River Restaurant in the House of Lords has had the decorations that I pictured removed. 'The food remains as stunning as before. I am most grateful to the Lord Speaker for his swift and thoughtful response to my request. I respect all people in all walks of life always.' Lady Nicholson was a Conservative MP between 1987 and 1995, when she made a high-profile defection to the Liberal Democrats in protest at John Major's policies. She was made a peer in 1997 and later served as a member of the European Parliament for the Lib Dems. She returned to the Tory fold in 2016. During her time in Parliament, she voted in favour of Section 28, which banned the 'promotion of homosexuality' by local authorities, and against gay marriage. 'Do pronouns get you a bigger plate of beans?' A number of users on X responded to her picture of the flags. Sean Ako said: 'As a gay man I find this to be incredibly dehumanising. Can't I have my breakfast in peace without having a flag waved in my face? I don't need to be celebrated first thing in the morning. I need to be caffeinated.' Clean City Bird wrote: 'Honestly, what has the progress flag or same-sex attraction got to do with having breakfast? Do you get a bigger portion if you state your pronouns while they plate your beans?' Margaret Kearney said: 'Think about the flags as you eat breakfast or have tea and toast. For some it could be a turn-off to eat anything. These flags have taken over everything. Thanks Emma for letting us know about this.' A spokesman for the House of Lords said it had not been the Lord Speaker who had personally intervened. 'Informal decorations were put up locally to mark the beginning of Pride month,' he said. 'These were taken down at an appropriate point due to their unofficial nature.'
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Reuters
Rally for LGBTQ+ rights to convene at historic site in Washington
WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - LGBTQ+ people will gather on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, site of Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, for a political rally aimed at preserving decades of progress while protesting setbacks under President Donald Trump. After the festive nature of a parade on Saturday through the streets of the capital, the political demonstration may be the main event of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration, which moves around the globe every two years. It occurs in Washington at a time of high tension over LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. Speakers are certain to rail against Trump, who has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people. The White House has defended its dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, calling DEI a form of discrimination, and said its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. The Trump administration has also touted its appointment of a number of openly gay people to cabinet posts and judgeships as evidence that Trump aims to serve all Americans. Before the main rally, transgender supporters will hold their own march to protest Trump's rhetoric and myriad state laws around the country that ban transgender healthcare services for minors. Backers of those laws say they are attempting to protect minors from starting on a path they may later regret. The transgender rally will march from the offices of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ organization in the U.S., toward the Lincoln Memorial, which is considered hallowed ground in the U.S. civil rights movement as the site of the King speech and the March on Washington that preceded historic legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
