The Pride flag proudly flies again in its rightful position at The Stonewall National Monument in New York City following its recent removal by the Trump Administration. Those in attendance at the re-raising of the flag included Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Congressman Jerry Nadler and more.
“We won’t let Trump erase LGBTQ+ history,” Nadler wrote in a statement online. “Stonewall was a rebellion. Stonewall was a beginning. Today, Stonewall is a call to action once again.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani also made statements on the removal of the flag writing about Stonewall’s legacy last week: “New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.”
The raising of the flag followed the release of a letter co-signed by over 20 national LGBTQ+ organizations. The letter, addressed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and General Services Administrator Ed Forst, demanded the flag be restored.
“It is our understanding that the policy provides limited exceptions for non-agency flags that provide historical context or play a role in historic reenactments. Simply put, we urge you to grant this flag an exception and raise it once again, immediately,” the letter reads.
“It also serves as an important reminder to the 30+ million LGBTQ+ Americans, who continue to face disproportionate threats to our lives and our liberty, that the sites and symbols that tell our stories are worth honoring…However, given recent removals of the site’s references to transgender and bisexual people — people who irrefutably played a pivotal role in this history — it is clear that this is not about the preservation of the historical record.”
The National Park Service which oversees historic sites including the Stonewall Inn has already made efforts to erase LGBTQ+ history at the directives of the Trump Administration. In 2025, NPS scrubbed words like “trans” and “bisexual” from Stonewall’s official webpage.
But Americans are fighting back. The official restoration of the Pride flag saw many LGBTQ+ residents, allies and activists gather at Stonewall Inn at Christopher Street Park on Feb. 12. According to LGBTQ Nation, elected officials brought a new flagpole with them and used plastic zip ties to attach it to the existing pole where an American flag had been raised the day before.
The New York City Council also mobilized to protect the display of the flag, advancing a resolution that urges Congress to protect and “respect the true history and significance of national park sites, including the Stonewall National Monument.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed new legislation to protect displays like Stonewall’s at a federal level. Schumer’s new bill would grant the pride flag designation as a congressional authorized flag. “Trump’s hateful crusade must end,” Schumer writes. “The very core of American identity is liberty and justice for all, and that is what this legislation would protect: each national park’s ability to make their own decision about what flag can be flown. Attempts to hurt New York and the LGBTQ community simply won’t fly, but the Stonewall Pride flag always will.”
