Press Release Feb 10, 2026

Keep Them Flying! Parks Group Calls for Pride Flags to Remain at Stonewall National Monument

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"The Pride flag is undoubtedly part of the living history and historical significance connected to Stonewall National Monument. And it should remain." -- NPCA's Timothy Leonard

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Flags fly at Stonewall National Monument in New York. The park's webpages were recently scrubbed of any mention of the trans community, including webpages about activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, key players in the Stonewall Uprising who later founded one of the first LGBTQ youth shelters in America.  

 

Today, in response to the Washington Blade reporting on the removal of Pride flags at Stonewall National Monument, after a recent memo from the Trump administration was shared related to Guidance on the Display and Flying of Non-Agency Flags and Pennants within the National Park System, the National Parks Conservation Association shared our concerns and called for the flags to remain at Stonewall National Monument.

This follows the administration’s earlier actions in February 2025, where they forced the removal of transgender references and people from the first and only national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.

Statement by Timothy Leonard, Northeast Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association

“The symbolic and meaningful representation of the Pride flag at Stonewall is at the heart of American history told and celebrated here. Given the Department of Interior’s own guidance, the Pride flag is undoubtedly part of the living history and historical significance connected to Stonewall National Monument. And it should remain. As the only national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history, and at a time where history and science are being removed from our parks, there is no greater time to reinforce the significant meaning of the Pride flag and all it represents at Stonewall.”

About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.

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