"Erasing letters or webpages does not change the history or the contributions of our transgender community members at Stonewall or anywhere else." -- NPCA's Timothy Leonard
New York, NY – In response to the Park Service removing references to transgender contributions at Stonewall National Monument, the National Parks Conservation Association responded with the following statement.
Statement by Timothy Leonard, Northeast Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association
“The National Park Service exists to not only protect and preserve our most cherished places but to educate its millions of annual national park visitors about the inclusive, full history of America. Erasing letters or webpages does not change the history or the contributions of our transgender community members at Stonewall or anywhere else. History was made here and civil rights were earned because of Stonewall. And we’re committed to ensuring more people know that story and how it continues to influence America today. Stonewall inspires and our parks must continue to include diverse stories that welcome and represent the people that shaped our nation.”
Statement by Mark Segal, LGBTQ Activist and Author, NPCA Ambassador for Change
“The spirit of Stonewall means to be visible and fight back against oppression. You cannot erase the history of Stonewall by erasing a letter. You cannot erase trans people by erasing a letter. This petty, vindictive action is an attempt to not only erase trans people from public view, but also the entire LGBT community. Stonewall, including all of us in the LGBT community who fought back that historic night and have continued to fight for 55 years, cannot and will not be erased. We will continue to fight, we will continue to be visible and persevere, and I urge all in our community to remember this day as the beginning of the second Stonewall rebellion.”
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 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.
