Over the last 55 years, there have been many titles attached to my name: Stonewall pioneer, publisher, writer, developer, concert producer, president and more than I can list here. But now I have a new title and a new role, which was not supposed to become public yet, but due to the circumstances of last week, that had to be changed — and the people who made that decision and why they made it makes my chest fill with pride.
I am now the Ambassador for Change for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). The NPCA works to protect our national parks, by educating decision-makers and opinion leaders about the most pressing issues facing the parks. And last week, the NPCA stood tall to protect the Stonewall National Monument when the National Park Services literally erased the trans community from their National Stonewall Monument web page. NPCA issued the following statements:
Statement by Timothy Leonard, Northeast Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association
“The National Park Service exists to not only protect and preserve our most cherished places but to educate its millions of annual national park visitors about the inclusive, full history of America. Erasing letters or webpages does not change the history or the contributions of our transgender community members at Stonewall or anywhere else. History was made here and civil rights were earned because of Stonewall. And we’re committed to ensuring more people know that story and how it continues to influence America today. Stonewall inspires and our parks must continue to include diverse stories that welcome and represent the people that shaped our nation.”
Statement by Mark Segal, LGBTQ Activist and Author, NPCA Ambassador for Change
“The spirit of Stonewall means to be visible and fight back against oppression. You cannot erase the history of Stonewall by erasing a letter. You cannot erase trans people by erasing a letter. This petty, vindictive action is an attempt to not only erase trans people from public view, but also the entire LGBT community. Stonewall, including all of us in the LGBT community who fought back that historic night and have continued to fight for 55 years, cannot and will not be erased. We will continue to fight, we will continue to be visible and persevere, and I urge all in our community to remember this day as the beginning of the second Stonewall rebellion.”
For 55 years now, I’ve been an activist, but this year I gained two new titles to describe those 55 years. For the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, I’m their “Rebel in Residence.” And now for NPCA, I’m their Ambassador for Change. It took many rebels to create change, and this rebel will continue that. We were in the fight that night at Stonewall in 1969, and every day for the last 55 years. Join the battles ahead, and I promise you this: If we stand together, we will ensure the L, G, B and most certainly the T will persevere.
