There may be other gay bars in Greenwich Village (‘the village’) but none have the distinction of being called “the cradle of the LGBT+ movement.” For three days in June 1969, The LGBT+ customers at the Stonewall Inn at 53 Christopher Street fought police harassment so they could congregate in a safe environment. Once stables and a mafia-owned bar, “Stonewall” is a landmark that defied its odds of being forced to close down.
A tourist attraction, it is still in operation as a bar and has an entertainment space on the second floor. Through a grassroots organization (SIGBI), Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, education and advocacy for financial aid and resources are given to local groups. Across the streets from Stonewall is a small Park that usually has held a Pride flag made by Gilbert Parker, the artist who created the Rainbow Pride flag in 1978.
On February 8th, the National Park Service, ordered by the Trump Administration, not only removed references to transgender people (the t in LGBT) from sections of the Stonewall National Monument, but also the Q (for questioning) and the b for bisexual representation from the online website about the monument. And the flag was removed!
Source: Gay City News
Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, Making Sure It Doesn’t Happen Again
The flag was hoisted by an angry crowd (“Hands off the Flag”) on February 12. It has remained. Schumer, seeing how easy it is for the Trump Administration to try and erase a minority, made a point about Stonewall: “Rights that are not secured in law can be threatened. New Yorkers have a right to be outraged because this is about dignity. It’s about visibility. It’s about respect.”
Accompanied by New York Congressman Dan Goldman, Manhattan Borough President, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Manhattan State Senator Erik Bottcher and Manhattan Assemblyman member Tony Simone as well as other concerned members of Stonewall, Schumer held a press conference at the Stonewall site.
According to The New York Times, “Pride Flag’s Removal From Stonewall Violated Federal Law, Suit Says, 2/18/26, a group of non profits filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump Administration saying that the removal of the flag from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan this month violated a federal law that allows national parks and monuments to fly confederate flags. The lawsuit was filed by Gilbert Baker Foundation Village Foundation.
When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know
For more detailed advice, see book, co-authored with a mother of a gay son and a psychiatrist, Jonathan L. Tobkes, M.D.
