The White House is set to create America's first-ever gay rights national monument
The Washington Post reports that President Obama is set to create America’s first ever national monument commemorating the gay rights movement.
The monument will actually be the entire section of New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood where six days of gay rights protests in 1969 gave birth to the movement.
“It would be the first national monument anchored by a dive bar and surrounded by a warren of narrow streets that long has been regarded the historic center of gay cultural life in New York City,” the Post says.
President Obama made reference to the site in his 2009 inaugural speech.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,” he said.
The proposal was submitted by N.Y. Rep. Jerrold Nadler.
“We must ensure that we never forget the legacy of Stonewall, the history of discrimination against the LGBT community, or the impassioned individuals who have fought to overcome it,” Nadler said in a statement. “The LGBT civil rights movement launched at Stonewall is woven into American history, and it is time our National Park system reflected that reality.”
The Stonewall area could be just the first in a series of monuments commemorating the movement; last year, Interior Sec. Sally Jewel said the U.S. would begin marking sites of significance to the history of LGBT civil rights:
Obama is prepared to make the designation as soon as next month, which commemorates gay pride, the Post says.Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.