The Trump administration deleted Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera from a federal website dedicated to the National Stonewall Monument. Yes! You read it correctly, in the wake of an executive order signed by President Donald J Trump, the government is now attempting to revise our nation’s history.

The National Park Service’s website provides information on cultural and natural resources throughout the national park system. However, all references to queer and transgender people were removed for the Stonewall National Monument, the first national park dedicated to LGBTQ+ history. I quote from the official website as it says, “The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights…” (nps.gov). This erasure of transgender and queer in the acronym LGBTQIA is a violent smack in the face to the historical contributions of trans activists. The federal government is boldly making the statement that “they did not exist then and therefore do not exist now.”

So, why should we care? Throughout the country, state legislatures are passing anti-trans bills that censor education on LGBTQ+ lives. This deletion of trans-inclusive history rolls back trans rights and representation. We cannot allow this erasure. Trans history is everyone’s history. To erase the stories of Slyvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson (just to name a few) is to falsify the American story! We already lack sufficient LGBTQ+ research, especially when it comes to overall wellness and affirming care, so why would we want to undo the progress we’ve already made?

Progress is about moving forward while honoring and reckoning with the truths of our past. Why are we adding to the ostracism of the trans and queer community? What purpose does it serve?The federal government must commit to preserving the histories of all communities as a part of the American narrative – because it is! We cannot just erase it, and we will not just erase
it. We will continue to tell the stories and honor the history of trans activists and trans contributions to our nation’s history. We must therefore hold the National Park Service accountable and insist they restore the important stories of Slyvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson.
Censorship will never silence the truth.