The Preservation League of NYS has drafted a statement decrying recent actions by the federal government to rewrite and censor LGBTQ+ history, notably by removing all mention of Transgender and Queer people from the Stonewall National Monument website.
Now nearly 30 historic preservation organizations from around New York State have joined their opposition.
“We aim to show a united front by joining our voice with our colleagues to condemn this erasure — and historic erasure of any kind,” an announcement from the organizations released on Saturday said. “Transgender and Queer participation cannot be erased and written out of the historical record like it never happened.”
On February 13, the National Park Service removed all instances of the words Transgender and Queer from the Stonewall National Monument website, as well as other sites and resources referencing LGBTQ+ history.
In 1999, Stonewall was the first site in the country listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to LGBTQ+ history.
The Stonewall National Monument, designated in 2016, is based on the boundaries established in this earlier nomination and is the first and only national park dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
The history of the Stonewall uprising is intertwined with wider civil rights movements in the United States during the 1950s through the 1970s.
“As a preservation movement, we say in no uncertain terms that LGBTQ+ history is our history, and it needs to be amplified and celebrated,” the organizations’ statement says. “We choose not to remain silent while attempts are made to deny the existence of Trans people, both past and present. Revising the historical record for political purposes is dangerous and unacceptable.”
“Preserving and celebrating diverse histories is essential – whether that means preserving sites related to disability history or places that represent the immigrant experience, telling the stories of women’s history, honoring Asian American histories, amplifying the work of Transgender activists, supporting Latinx communities, or celebrating Black culture – all of it matters and we stand with our allies who continue to do this important work.”
Organizations which have signed on to the statement include:
Adirondack Architectural Heritage • Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation • Bero Architecture, PLLC • Clinton Brown Company Architecture, PC • Crawford & Stearns, Architects & Preservation Planners, PLLC • Docomomo US • The Fullerton • Historic Albany Foundation • Historic Districts Council • Historic House Trust of NYC • Historic Ithaca • Johnson-Schmidt, Architect, P.C. • Landmark Society of Western NY • LANDMARK WEST! • NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project • The New York Preservation Archive Project • Otsego 2000 • Preservation Alumni (Friends of Columbia University’s Historic Preservation Program) • Preservation Association of Central NY • Preservation Buffalo Niagara • Preservation League of NYS • RUPCO, Inc • Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation • Save Harlem Now! • Schenectady Heritage Foundation • Thousand Island Park Landmark Society • Village Preservation
Reach out if your organization would like to be added to the list.
Photo: Stonewall Inn draped with a reminder the 1969 Stonewall Uprising was a anti-police riot.
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