Report: Obama to designate first national monument to gay rights

A memorial plaque at the Stonewall Inn.
(Image credit: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama is prepared to designate a small area in Manhattan's Greenwich Village the first national monument recognizing the gay rights movement, The Washington Post reports.

The area surrounds the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 Stonewall Riots that launched the gay rights movement. On May 9, several federal officials, including the director of the National Park Service and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, will hold a listening session for feedback on the proposal. "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," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the co-author of legislation that would make the area a national park, 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."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.