President Obama is designating a new national monument around the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.
The Stonewall National Monument in New York City will be the first addition to the National Park System specifically highlighting the history of the LGBT community.
The monument covers nearly 8 acres in New York’s Greenwich Village including a landmark gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. In June of 1969, patrons at the bar fought back against police persecution — an event that’s widely seen as a watershed in the campaign for LGBT rights.
“Raids like these were nothing new, but this time the patrons had had enough,” Obama said in a White House video announcing the new monument. “So they stood up and spoke out. The riots became protests. The protests became a movement. The movement ultimately became an integral part of America.”