‘Transgender’ and ‘queer’ erased from Stonewall Uprising national monument website

By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — The National Park Service has removed references to transgender and queer people on its web page for the Stonewall National Monument, which marks the site of the New York City inn where LGBTQ rioters – including now-legendary transgender activists – galvanized a movement for LGBTQ rights.

On the NPS web page, the term “LGBTQ+” was also shortened to “LGB,” according to an archived version of the page.

“This feels especially personal … when you’re coming into the birthplace of the LGBTQ rights movement – where Pride began – and erasing the history of the LGBTQ rights movement by erasing trans folks,” said Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn.

The Stonewall Inn at the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village is prized as an origin of the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement and is internationally revered as a symbol of gay, lesbian and transgender resistance. The gay bar was the site of a 1969 police raid that sparked a fierce backlash from its patrons and led to days of protests and skirmishes between LGBTQ rioters and police.

The National Parks Service’s action is the latest move in the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to expunge references to trans and nonbinary people across federal agencies.

Since President Donald Trump issued a directive last month that the federal government only recognize two genders: male and female, agencies including the State Department and CDC have truncated the “LGBTQ+” acronym to simply “LGB,” erased references to trans, queer and intersex people, and removed web pages and data sets relating to the groups.

New York City Councilperson Erik Bottcher accused Trump of “trying to erase the very existence of trans people.”

“He’s trying to cleave our community apart and divide us,” said Bottcher, whose district includes Greenwich Village and the Stonewall Inn. “He’s not going to succeed. Lesbians and gays are not going abandon our transgender siblings. We are one community.”

CNN has sought comment from the National Park Service.

The Stonewall riots erupted as the gay rights movement of the 1960s was building momentum across the United States and frustrations were reaching a boiling point. At the time, while being gay was still illegal in most states, LGBTQ groups had already clashed with police in Los Angeles, San Francisco and several other cities.

Trans women played a key role in the Stonewall uprising, including activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who would become pioneers of the nascent gay liberation movement. Though some gay rights groups that emerged from the protests sought at times to downplay or even deny trans people’s role in Stonewall, historians have since documented their involvement.

The first anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1970 is considered to be the first gay pride parade.

“Pride would not exist without trans people, especially trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Miss Major Griffin Gracey, who were on the front lines and fought for queer and trans liberation and for the LGBTQIA+ movement,” said Angelica Christina, Board Director of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative.

Christina said she was enraged but “not entirely surprised” by the NPS removing references to trans and queer people.

“We’ve seen relentless and insidious attacks by this current administration against trans people across the country,” Christina said. “(Trump) is attempting to eliminate our rights at every point and turn.”

Trump has in recent weeks issued a parade of executive orders aimed at eliminating trans community’s access to health care, ability to participate in sports and serve openly in the military. Some of the orders have already created chaos and confusion as they threaten to revoke federal funding for hospitals, research institutions, colleges and universities that provide services for trans people or organize programs to benefit them.

“We’re seeing history replay in real time and we cannot allow for that,” Christina said. “We must stand up. We must align as a community and fight back and support trans, nonbinary and intersex people in this country because we are in danger.”

Community embers began gathering outside the Stonewall Thursday night as news of the park service’s action spread, Lentz said. She believed the crowd will continue growing and tip off protests in the coming days.

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