The area surrounding the historic Stonewall Inn has attracted numerous demonstrations during the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term — including two recent actions during the first week of March.
On March 1, Resistance Rangers — a group featuring fired National Park Service workers — called for protests across the 400-plus national parks sprinkled around the country to condemn the Trump administration’s purge of park rangers. One of those demonstrations were held at Christopher Park, which is home to the Stonewall National Monument under the National Park Service.
The protests were held roughly two weeks after the Trump administration scrubbed references to “transgender” or “queer” from the Stonewall National Monument’s website and other National Park Service websites.
The demonstration at Christopher Park featured Rainbow and Trans Flags draped over the fence and on top of artist George Segal’s gay liberation sculptures in the park. Attire worn by park rangers covered the sculptures and a lanyard placed on one of the sculptures stated, “We once wore these clothes as National Park Service rangers who have been fired and are furious about the erasure of transgender and queer people from public record by the federal administration.”
Four days later, on Ash Wednesday, which kicks off Lent, queer and trans-affirming Christians gathered at the Stonewall National Monument for a Christian liturgy of glitter and ash, or “glitter+ash.” The gathering was organized by Middle Church, Parity, St. Lydia’s Dinner Church, and the Stone Catchers.
“Ash Wednesday demands that all Christians tell the truth about violence in our world, and repent our role in perpetuating it,” Rev. Liz Edman, co-founder of Glitter+Ash and an organizer of the Stone Catcher Project, said in a written statement. “Queer people have long used glitter to display our gritty, scandalous hope. This year, we invite Christians to stand in solidarity with queer and trans people and repent of the violence being done to queer and trans bodies in the name of a false and deadly gospel.”
