Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan had its LGBT+ flags removed by the Federal Government in February as part of the president’s Executive Order to “restore sanity” in how the National Park Service tells American History. LGBT+ groups sued the Federal Government and won in a settlement. The site also contains a statue of Major General Phillip Sheridan. Here is the New York Times report on the court case from just a little while ago:
The agreement, which was filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, settled a lawsuit by a group of nonprofits. They argued that the government had illegally targeted L.G.B.T.Q. people and violated a policy that allows the National Park Service to fly “non-agency” flags at federal sites if the flags provide historical context.
It is under that policy that Confederate flags are allowed to be flown at sites managed by the Park Service, including Gettysburg National Military Park.
“The government has acknowledged what we argued from day one: The Pride flag belongs at Stonewall,” Alexander Kristofcak, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement on Monday. “The flag will be restored, it will fly officially and permanently, and the court will stand ready to enforce that commitment.”
Under the terms of the settlement, the government agreed to permanently return the flag to the federal site’s official flagpole within seven days, alongside an American flag and the flag of the National Park Service.
The Pride flag was quietly removed from the Stonewall National Monument in early February after the Department of the Interior issued federal guidance on displaying “non-agency” flags at land administered by the National Park System.
Employees at the Stonewall Inn, the gay bar for which the monument is named, noticed the rainbow flag was missing when they arrived at work on Feb. 9. Rainbow flags remained displayed at separate historical sites in the area that were administered by the city and state governments.
Days later, hundreds of people rallied at the site, and elected officials raised a Pride flag on the flagpole in defiance of the Trump administration. The flag has flown at the site since then in an unofficial capacity, but without the agreement reached on Monday it could have been removed at any time.
The flag’s removal was the second time in less than a year that the Trump administration had targeted the Stonewall site, which commemorates the birth of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement.
Shortly after Mr. Trump’s inauguration last year, the National Park Service removed the word “transgender” from prominent sections of the federal monument’s website.
The Trump administration has mounted a broad assault on what it considers to be diversity initiatives, including by scouring historical and other public sites for symbolic displays like flags, images and word choices that it deems to be inappropriate.
The National Park Service has played an important role in that effort. Since Mr. Trump’s inauguration last year, it has removed an exhibit on George Washington’s ownership of slaves from Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, dismantled a plaque about climate change at Muir Woods National Monument in California, and stopped showing films about immigrant and female textile workers at Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
Now back to me:
The president’s Executive Order says that some of the National Parks harm the “United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.” The president says that proper history should “foster unity.” He writes that “Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame.” The president sketches out how the National Park Service should approach history:
“It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing. ”
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media:
