MAS Celebrates Stonewall National Monument

We celebrate our first national monument dedicated to the LGBT rights movement

June 27, 2016

MAS was delighted by the news on June 24, 2016, that President Obama would designate the first-ever national monument to the LGBT civil rights movement in New York’s Greenwich Village.

“I’m designating the Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America’s National Park System. Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country, the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us. That we are stronger together. That out of many, we are one.”

 

– Barack Hussein Obama 44th President of the United States

A celebration at the Stonewall Inn on Pride Weekend in 2016, the day after President Obama announced the Stonewall National Monument. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Rhododendrites.
A celebration at the Stonewall Inn on Pride Weekend in 2016, the day after President Obama announced the Stonewall National Monument. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Rhododendrites.

The Stonewall Inn became ingrained in American history on June 28, 1969, when a police raid ignited days of disturbance and demonstration. In previous interactions with police, bar patrons had been cooperative, even in the face of routine, government-sanctioned persecution; but on this night they rose up in defiance. The rebellion is credited with sparking the formation of LGBT civil rights organizations across the country. It also resulted in the annual Pride March, now part of Pride Month, which is celebrated by millions worldwide.

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) was proud to advocate for the designation of the Stonewall Inn as an individual New York City landmark in 2015. Conferring this status upon Stonewall last year was a step forward for our local Landmarks Preservation Commission and our field as a whole—it was the first landmark designated in New York City exclusively to recognize the LGBT rights movement.

Now we celebrate our first national monument dedicated to this struggle. We hope you have a chance to stop by the Stonewall Inn and Christopher Park soon in honor of this legacy of change within our City.

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