On June 28, 1969, patrons at a gay bar in New York City’s West Village neighborhood decided they had finally had enough after yet another police raid.
As the NYPD attempted to enforce a law making it illegal to serve alcohol to “homosexuals,” the resistance of the bar patrons turned into an uprising – the Stonewall Uprising – an event now widely credited with sparking the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S.
Now, nearly 50 years later, that same location – where members of the community stood up to government injustice – has been designated a new national monument by the President of the United States.
“Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights,” President Obama said in a YouTube video released by the White House Thursday. “I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country – the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us, that we are stronger together, that out of many, we are one.”