AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The National Park Service has removed all references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website. The monument is the first U.S. landmark dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history. On Friday, crowds gathered outside the Stonewall Inn in defense of trans rights, and NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento was there.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: There's snow on the ground in New York City as scores of people gather around the Stonewall National Monument.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting) Your fight too.
SARMIENTO: Nikita Shepard is a historian. They're holding a sign that says...
NIKITA SHEPARD: You can't spell Stonewall without the T, which is literally true (laughter) and politically true.
SARMIENTO: In 1969, the Stonewall Inn was a gay bar, where patrons rioted against raids by the NYPD. Shepard says...
SHEPARD: There's absolutely no way that you can tell the story of Stonewall and the Stonewall uprising or of the broader history of gender and sexuality without talking about trans people.
SARMIENTO: That's why they're here, protesting the removal of the word transgender from the Stonewall National Monument website. Several letters have been removed from the acronym, too. What was formerly LGBTQ is now LGB.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting) Stand up, fight back.
SARMIENTO: Stacy Lentz is now co-owner of the Stonewall Inn and CEO of the inn's nonprofit, the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. Lentz says the National Park Service did not notify the inn about the changes to the website. But...
STACY LENTZ: I don't think the Parks Department had a choice. I'll be quite frank about that.
SARMIENTO: Lentz believes the mandate came down from the White House. The Trump administration issued an executive order saying there are only two sexes and that someone's gender is fixed from birth. The National Park Service did not respond to NPR's request for comment. Angelica Christina, board director of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, says no matter who made the call, the changes to the website send a clear message.
ANGELICA CHRISTINA: It is deeply offensive and such a slap in the face for what the National Park Service did in attempting to erase trans people and queer people from their website.
SARMIENTO: Lentz worries that the changes to the website are the tip of the iceberg for what's to come. But she says no matter what, the Stonewall Inn will remain a safe haven for all queer and trans people. Nikita Shepard agrees. They say today's rally sends a message, too.
SHEPARD: Whatever the Trump administration says, whatever the websites of the, you know, Parks Department says, we have always been here. We are here, and we will continue to be here.
SARMIENTO: Shepard says, trans people aren't going away. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News, New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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