Stonewall Leaders Denounce Trump for Pride Flag Move

Stonewall Leaders Balk at Trump Administration’s Decision to Remove Pride Flag from National Monument

PALM SPRINGS —The Trump administration’s decision to remove the LGBTQ+ Pride flag, originally designed by Gilbert Baker1, from
the Stonewall National Monument in New York City has raised the ire of local Stonewall leaders.

Stephen Nelson, Chair and Ruth Debra, Vice Chair of the Desert Stonewall Democrats issued a sharp rebuke of the removal, which took place under a newly enforced Department of the Interior policy, has been widely condemned as a calculated attempt to diminish the history of the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

While federal flagpoles at Christopher Park now stand bare of the rainbow banner, the movement’s birthplace remains a site of global significance. Chair Nelson, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility and local governance in the Coachella Valley, emphasized
that such actions only strengthen the community’s resolve.

“This administration may have the power to lower a flag on federal land, but they do not have the power to rewrite history. Removing the Pride flag from Stonewall is a petty, ideological stunt that ignores the reality of the American story,” Nelson said in a statement. ” Stonewall is where our community stood up and said ‘no more’ to state sponsored. We in the Coachella Valley know that visibility is our greatest protection. By stripping this symbol from the National Monument, the President is signaling that our history is somehow ‘non-agency’ or ‘unofficial.’ We have a message for Washington: Our lives are official. Our history is American history. And no bureaucratic memo can dim the light of the progress we have made together.”

In a prepared statement, Debra said, “I have spent over sixty years in the trenches of social justice—from the civil rights marches of the sixties to the formation of the National Organization for Women. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that those in power always try to start by removing our symbols. They think that if they can take down a flag, they can make the people it represents disappear. They are wrong. You can take a flag off a pole, but you cannot take the ‘Stonewall’ out of our community. We are the generation that refused to be hidden in windowless bars and back alleys. To see this administration
try to sanitize Christopher Park by stripping away the rainbow is a slap in the face to every elder who bled for the right to be seen. But let me be clear: We aren’t going back into the shadows. We are radical, we are resilient, and we are still here. This isn’t just a flag they’re fighting—it’s the unstoppable truth of our existence.”

This action follows a series of moves by the Trump administration aimed at reducing the
visibility of the LGBTQ+ community

• Digital Erasure: In early 2025, the National Park Service removed “transgender” and “queer” references from the Stonewall National Monument’s educational resources.
• • Policy Shifts: A January 21, 2026, Department of the Interior memorandum restricted flag displays to only the U.S. flag and specific agency banners, effectively banning the Pride flag from federal parks.
• Local Impact: Desert Stonewall Democrats recently successfully campaigned for the Palm Desert City Council to uphold local Pride displays, contrasting the federal government’s restrictive stance.

The Desert Stonewall Democrats will continue to support and stand in solidarity with our community in New York and across the country who are working to ensure the Pride flag returns to its rightful place on Christopher Street, the leaders said,