President Obama declares LGBT icon Stonewall Inn a national monument

President Obama declared the Stonewall Inn a national monument on Friday.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Obama on Friday signed a proclamation to designate New York's Stonewall Inn as a national monument, the first such monument to LGBT rights. The iconic building is the place where, on June 28, 1969, LGBT protesters defied a police raid in a seminal struggle for gay rights. "The riots became protests. The protests became a movement. The movement ultimately became an integral part of America," Obama said in a video announcing the designation:

During his presidency, Obama has protected more than 265 million acres of national land. Read the president's official proclamation at BuzzFeed News.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.