Trump administration erases references to trans, queer people on Stonewall webpage
The Trump administration removed references to transgender and queer people from an official webpage for the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, drawing widespread recrimination from lawmakers and New York’s influential queer community.
The National Park Service scrubbed the words “transgender” and “queer,” as well as the “T” and “Q+” in “LGBTQ+,” from its webpage for the monument this week, according to screenshots of the page captured by the Wayback Machine, a form of digital archive.
Reached for comment, a White House official pointed to President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order on Jan. 20 that directed federal agencies to “remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology,” which has become a conservative watchword for a nonbinary recognition of gender.
They did not say whether the letters or words would be removed from the monument itself.
The park service, which oversees the monument, pointed to the same executive order and a related directive from the Secretary of the Interior.
While terminology around sex and gender is always evolving, the "T," which stands for "transgender" or simply "trans," has been a part of the acronym for about 30 years. The "Q," which refers to "questioning" or "queer," doesn't seem to fall under the purview the Trump administration's order but was nonetheless erased from much of the website.
But the National Parks Service's purge was not as thorough as the Trump administration might have hoped. The mobile site for the national park still had multiple references to "LGBTQ" history on Friday afternoon.
The Stonewall Inn bar and an adjacent park on Christopher Street became the first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights in the country in 2016, and a visitor’s center opened last year. The monument commemorates the 1969 uprising sparked by a police raid on the LGBTQ+ bar on Christopher Street. Many of those who led and participated in the uprising identified as transgender or queer.
The visitor center, which is a program of the nonprofit Pride Live in partnership with the National Park Service, said in a statement on its website Friday that it would continue “to protect and preserve Stonewall’s legacy and history.”
“Our space is inextricably linked with and honors the brave pioneers, especially transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, who led the Stonewall Rebellion,” the statement said.
Hundreds of people swarmed the monument Friday, carrying LGBTQ+ Pride flags, along with signs reading “there’s no Stonewall without the T” and similar messages opposing the erasure of LGBTQ+ people.
“The sloppiness of just trying to erase a ‘T’ to enact some kind of fantasy about human sexuality is both stupid and unacceptable from the standpoint of history,” said Tia Schellstede, who stood just outside of Christopher Park as speakers addressed the crowd.
“The last few weeks have been really rough for the trans community,” said fellow protester Jason Jack. “I’ve been here protesting against Trump and his previous administration, and here we are back again. It almost feels par for the course at this point, but we’re going to fight another four years.”
A protester holds up a sign at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village on Feb. 14, 2025.
Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
Local lawmakers, including state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, released statements criticizing the National Park Service’s action. Gov. Kathy Hochul called it “cruel and petty.”
In a statement, the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative and the Stonewall Inn said they were “outraged and appalled by the decision” and demanded the restoration of the webpage's original language.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said his administration was committed to "fostering a safe, inclusive and affirming environment" for all New Yorkers, and added that the city would continue to care for them regardless of gender and sexual orientation. They did not directly address the park service's decision.
Allen Roskoff, a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist and president of the local Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, said the erasure of references to transgender and queer people was a "foreshadowing" of what's to come over the next four years.
"What we fought for, it's all being eroded," Roskoff said. "It’s scary, it’s frightening, it’s dangerous, and we have to prepare ourselves to fight back."
This story has been updated with additional information.