Defying Trump, activists re-install Rainbow Flag at Stonewall National Monument
Three days after the Trump administration removed a Rainbow Flag from the Stonewall National Monument, defiant activists hoisted the Rainbow Flag once again in front of a jam-packed crowd of fed-up LGBTQ community members who flooded the area surrounding Christopher Park. The flag re-raising ceremony, while ultimately successful, took a dramatic turn from its original … Read More
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Three days after the Trump administration removed a Rainbow Flag from the Stonewall National Monument, defiant activists hoisted the Rainbow Flag once again in front of a jam-packed crowd of fed-up LGBTQ community members who flooded the area surrounding Christopher Park.
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The Rainbow Flag stands tall at the Stonewall National Monument.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The flag re-raising ceremony, while ultimately successful, took a dramatic turn from its original plan. For days, elected officials — including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Manhattan State Senator Erik Bottcher — vowed to raise the flag during a 4 p.m. event on Feb. 12. Those elected officials indeed brought a Rainbow Flag attached to a thin flagpole and placed it next to the flagpole where the original Rainbow Flag was located, but the new flag did not get attached to the actual flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument — and it was only flying at about half-staff.
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Elected officials initially placed a Rainbow Flag against the flagpole, as seen here, before activists stepped in to install it and raise it up.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The elected officials left the flag in place and walked away, leaving the audience groaning in disappointment and prompting several activists, including Jay W. Walker and Josh Tjaden, to walk up and actually install a Rainbow Flag onto the flagpole — with scissors and all.
Minutes later, the Rainbow Flag went up and sat just inches above the American Flag on the same flagpole after the activists finished raising the new flag. At several points during the ceremony, the crowd chanted, "Raise our flag!"
[caption id="attachment_61480" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Activists Jay W. Walker (left) and Josh Tjaden install the Rainbow Flag at the Stonewall National Monument.Donna Aceto[/caption]
"Our elected officials, though I love them, brought in their own flagpole and planted it in the ground in front of it, and their plastic pole was lower than that flagpole, so it resulted in our Rainbow Flag being lower than [the American Flag] and not on the actual flagpole," Jay W. Walker, who was among the activists who raised the flag, told Gay City News moments after the flag went back up. "The least we could do is to put our flag higher on this cord than the American Flag."
[caption id="attachment_61481" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Activists celebrate after re-installing the Rainbow Flag.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The flag re-raising ceremony marked the latest chapter in a dizzying week of developments stemming from the Trump administration's removal of the Rainbow Flag that was first installed in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. Gay City News exclusively reported on the flag's removal on Feb. 9 after National Park Service officials said the flag was removed due to "government-wide guidance" stipulating that "only the US flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags" can be flown "on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions."
Angelica Christina, the director of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, was front-and-center at the park with a bullhorn in hand.
[caption id="attachment_61487" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Angelica Christina of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative addresses the crowd.Donna Aceto[/caption]
"I feel so empowered to say my community showed up en masse," Christina said in an interview with Gay City News. "To have our space invaded like this is criminal. And, of course, the person that is directing these sycophants to invade our home is a 34-time convicted felon himself. What today means is resilience and tapping into our LGBTQIA+ history."
Christina added: "This is our ancestry, and we are not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting, not just for ourselves, but future generations of LGBTQIA+ people."
The Department of the Interior, the agency which includes the National Park Service, told Gay City News the flag-raising ceremony was a “political stunt” and “a distraction” from the city’s “recent deadly failures.”
“Hundreds of families in New York City went without power during this year’s severe cold weather, people are being found dead on the streets, and trash has piled up so high it towers over city residents. This is Mayor Mamdani and city officials’ New York City,” the Department of the Interior told Gay City News when asked for comment on the flag-raising ceremony.
[caption id="attachment_61482" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Community members look on during the flag-raising ceremony.Donna Aceto[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_61483" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
A message of affirmation for trans youth.Donna Aceto[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_61484" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
The historic day also served as a reminder of the Stonewall Uprising — and the work remaining.Donna Aceto[/caption]
See the video below:
The Rainbow Flag stands tall at the Stonewall National Monument.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The flag re-raising ceremony, while ultimately successful, took a dramatic turn from its original plan. For days, elected officials — including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Manhattan State Senator Erik Bottcher — vowed to raise the flag during a 4 p.m. event on Feb. 12. Those elected officials indeed brought a Rainbow Flag attached to a thin flagpole and placed it next to the flagpole where the original Rainbow Flag was located, but the new flag did not get attached to the actual flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument — and it was only flying at about half-staff.
[caption id="attachment_61479" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Elected officials initially placed a Rainbow Flag against the flagpole, as seen here, before activists stepped in to install it and raise it up.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The elected officials left the flag in place and walked away, leaving the audience groaning in disappointment and prompting several activists, including Jay W. Walker and Josh Tjaden, to walk up and actually install a Rainbow Flag onto the flagpole — with scissors and all.
Minutes later, the Rainbow Flag went up and sat just inches above the American Flag on the same flagpole after the activists finished raising the new flag. At several points during the ceremony, the crowd chanted, "Raise our flag!"
[caption id="attachment_61480" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Activists Jay W. Walker (left) and Josh Tjaden install the Rainbow Flag at the Stonewall National Monument.Donna Aceto[/caption]
"Our elected officials, though I love them, brought in their own flagpole and planted it in the ground in front of it, and their plastic pole was lower than that flagpole, so it resulted in our Rainbow Flag being lower than [the American Flag] and not on the actual flagpole," Jay W. Walker, who was among the activists who raised the flag, told Gay City News moments after the flag went back up. "The least we could do is to put our flag higher on this cord than the American Flag."
[caption id="attachment_61481" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Activists celebrate after re-installing the Rainbow Flag.Donna Aceto[/caption]
The flag re-raising ceremony marked the latest chapter in a dizzying week of developments stemming from the Trump administration's removal of the Rainbow Flag that was first installed in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. Gay City News exclusively reported on the flag's removal on Feb. 9 after National Park Service officials said the flag was removed due to "government-wide guidance" stipulating that "only the US flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags" can be flown "on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions."
Angelica Christina, the director of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, was front-and-center at the park with a bullhorn in hand.
[caption id="attachment_61487" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Angelica Christina of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative addresses the crowd.Donna Aceto[/caption]
"I feel so empowered to say my community showed up en masse," Christina said in an interview with Gay City News. "To have our space invaded like this is criminal. And, of course, the person that is directing these sycophants to invade our home is a 34-time convicted felon himself. What today means is resilience and tapping into our LGBTQIA+ history."
Christina added: "This is our ancestry, and we are not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting, not just for ourselves, but future generations of LGBTQIA+ people."
The Department of the Interior, the agency which includes the National Park Service, told Gay City News the flag-raising ceremony was a “political stunt” and “a distraction” from the city’s “recent deadly failures.”
“Hundreds of families in New York City went without power during this year’s severe cold weather, people are being found dead on the streets, and trash has piled up so high it towers over city residents. This is Mayor Mamdani and city officials’ New York City,” the Department of the Interior told Gay City News when asked for comment on the flag-raising ceremony.
[caption id="attachment_61482" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Community members look on during the flag-raising ceremony.Donna Aceto[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_61483" align="aligncenter" width="700"] A message of affirmation for trans youth.Donna Aceto[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_61484" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The historic day also served as a reminder of the Stonewall Uprising — and the work remaining.Donna Aceto[/caption]
See the video below:
