Removal of Pride Flag is Part of a Larger Narrative That Calls For Action
Image courtesy of Rhea Nayyar
The Pride flag was removed from our Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village earlier this month. Much like the first attack on the symbolic birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement last year, in which the Trump administration scrubbed all mention of transgender individuals from the National Park Service site related to our hallowed place, it occurred symbolically in the quiet of the night. This is yet another step in this administration’s assault on LGBTQ+ people, our history and the reality of diversity.
Our community is not alone in this. Last week’s action at Stonewall fits into an ongoing and deliberate move to narrow how history is told and who is represented at the hands of the federal government.
Amy Sherald, an African-American artist and LGBTQ+ ally, found herself threatened with censure last fall as she prepared to launch “American Sublime,” an exhibit of her work, at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Sherald’s paintings, which include the well-known portrait of Michelle Obama, tell a story of contemporary African American life that centers on quiet dignity, leisure and humanity. This alone could make her a target in this political moment. But it was her work, “Trans Forming Liberty,” which depicts Arewà Basit, a Black non-binary trans-femme artist, drag performer and singer in a pose evoking Lady Liberty, that drew the attention of Smithsonian administrators who, under pressure from the White House, demanded the painting’s removal.
More recently, National Park Service employees in Philadelphia were seen removing panels that told the story of enslaved people brought to Philadelphia by George and Martha Washington during the President’s time in office. These people toiled in the Washington’s home, which once stood on what is today Independence Mall.
Each of these are bold attempts to erase, deny and “otherize” – to push us all back to the margins of society. We must see that two of these events center around transgender and non-binary people of color – Martha P. Johnson and others, who lit the fire at Stonewall, and Basit’s dignified pose in a call for liberty and justice for all. We must also realize that the move to erase and deny us is part of a larger movement. If any of us were unaware before, these actions shout loudly that intersectionality is real.
But here is the thing: We are not powerless. Events of the last few days illustrate this:
On Thursday afternoon, New Yorkers gathered en masse to return the Pride flag to its rightful place in Sheridan Square. They were led by Erik Bottcher, an out gay member of the New York City Council who was just recently elected to the New York State Senate, among others. This crowd countered erasure and lies with truth. They did so stridently and with dignity.
As recently as this weekend, “Amy Sherald: American Sublime,” which found a new venue at the Baltimore Museum of Art, continues to sell out. Crowds gather there too, to see and be inspired by Sherald’s honest and moving depictions of black and queer life. “Trans Forming Liberty” shares space with works such as “For Love, and for Country,” another queer-centered piece, and “Kingdom,” which, through the eyes of a boy staring out into the world that will be, tells us that the move to wind the clock backwards is indeed a folly.
And on Monday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, in a case filed by the City of Philadelphia, ordered the Trump administration to immediately restore the interpretative panels about slavery to President’s House site on Independence Mall. Judge Rufe soundly rejected the administration’s assertion that they have absolute discretion to choose the historical message conveyed at such sites. In her decision, she stated that the government cannot "dissemble and disassemble historical truths" at national monuments and compared the removal of the exhibits to the rewriting of history in George Orwell’s 1984.
In each of these cases, we collectively said in voice and action, “You will not erase us and you will not deny history.”
And let’s remember that in the months ahead. We must fight against any and all attempts to erase us or to shove us back into the closet. We must channel that energy into the fight to protect those around us who are now living in a virtual closet fearing extrajudicial detention and deportation. We must voice opposition to the warehousing of people in our backyard.
While we cannot all take the same action, each of us can show up as we are able. We can also remember that we are all New Yorkers, whether by birth or by choice, and we have a long history of not taking crap and of speaking out.
