For the past nine years, the transgender flag was included among those that flew around the Stonewall National Monument in Christopher Park during Pride Month. However, the National Park Service(NPS) will no longer be displaying the Transgender Pride flag or the Progress Pride flag, stating a change of protocol as the reason.The New York City monument commemorating the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 is the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, having been designated as such in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. It has since become tradition for the monument, located in a park across the street from the Stonewall Inn, to be adorned with various Pride flags, including the trans flag. NPS funds the installation of these flags. This year, however, NPS told photographer, advocate, and installation creator Steven Love Mendez that the park will not allow Trans or Progress Pride flags this year. Related Trans landmark added to National Register of Historic Places despite Trumps anti-trans attacks The site of a historic riot is likely the first U.S. landmark to specifically honor the trans community. The censorious move comes after the Trump administration wiped all references to trans and nonbinary people from the monuments website in February, as part of his wider initiative to purge trans and nonbinary people from all references and resources provided by the federal government. The removal of trans people from a monument in which a transgender person was considered a key figure has led to outrage, with many coming to the monument to protest. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Speaking to CBS, Mendez comments, Its a terrible action for them to take. he continues, I used to be listed as an LGBTQ activist, and now it says Steven Menendez, LGB activist,' Menendez said. They took out the Q and the T.The trans-exclusionary initialism of LGB is sometimes used by transphobes to encourage a social and ideological split between gay, lesbian, and bisexual people and transgender people, based on their differing gender experiences.Upon learning of the monuments trans erasure, many New Yorkers and tourists came to the monument to set up unauthorized pride flags in protest, including smaller trans flags planted in the soil.Jay Edinin of Queens, New York, was one of the people who brought his own flag and told CBS, Im not going to stand by and watch us be erased from our own history, from our own communities, and from the visibility that we desperately need right now.Willa Kingsford of Portland, Oregon, stated, I think its absurd. I think its petty, Patty Carter of Los Angeles, California, stated, Its horrible. Theyre changing all of our history.The Stonewall Riots, to which the monument is dedicated, to began on June 28, 1969. During that time law enforcement commonly raided queer bars since New York had outlawed homosexuality and cross-dressing. During the raid at the Stonewall Inn, the LGBTQ+ community decided they had reached their tipping point and fought back against law enforcement. The resulting six days riots were said to have marked the beginning of the LGBTQ+ rights movement and became the reason why Pride Month is celebrated in June. Two of the most notable figures in this uprising were Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, both trans women. It is believed that Johnson instigated the riot by throwing a brick at a police officer. Rivera is also considered to be a key instigator; she is said to be one of the first people to fight back against the police, to which many quote her as saying, Im not missing a minute of thisits the revolution!Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.