Permanent Pride Flag to be Placed at Stonewall Monument June 1

Following five years of work by LGBTQ activists, a new, permanent flagpole flying a progress Pride flag will be placed at the Stonewall National Monument in New York on June 1. Organizers will join the National Park Service to dedicate the flag after it was abruptly removed in 2017. 

“This will be the first rainbow flag to fly 24/7 on federal land and the installation ceremony will kick off Pride Month 2022 in New York City,” organizers say in a save-the-date announcement.

Christopher Park, which is home to the Stonewall National Monument, is located across the street from the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, and served as a place of refuge for unhoused LGBTQ youth and other members of the community seeking safety during the first night of the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. 

In 2016, President Obama designated The Stonewall Monument in Christopher Park a national monument, but it took until the fall of 2017 for the Pride flag to be officially put up. This was a huge moment in LGBTQ history—the first time a Pride flag would be permanently raised on federal land. However, five days before the flag was set to be honored with an official ceremony in 2017, the Associate Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Todd Willens ordered the flag to be taken down due to pressures from the Trump administration. 

Now, after five years, the flagpole will be reinstated at the park, with an updated progress Pride flag triumphantly placed at the top. Numerous activists have advocated for the flag to be returned over the years. Michael Petrelis, a gay rights activist and coordinator of the dedication ceremony, states his reaction to the event was “pure jubilation, knowing our Pride colors will soon permanently fly at this historical location.”

The new flagpole has already been installed but could not be dedicated due to restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Stonewall Superintendent Shirley McKinney says she is planning to speak at the event and remarks that she is excited for the flag to be raised. 

Similarly, Steven Love Menendez, a gay activist and NPS volunteer from New York, says he is “beyond thrilled” with the news.

“It seems to have happened at such a crucial moment in our history as a nation, when the LGBT community seems to be under attack on issues regarding trans rights, and now even marriage equality coming under fire from within the conservative movement,” he says.

This event serves as a beacon of hope that change is possible thanks to the dedication of LGBTQ activists that work hard every day to make the United States a more inclusive and safe place for people in the LGBTQ community. 

The dedication ceremony for the new flag will take place at the Stonewall National Monument on June 1 at 1 p.m. The event coordinators encourage all who are able to join them in celebrating this historic moment.