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New York City
Themarrero posted a photo:
Yesterday June 24th 2016, US President Barack Obama created the Stonewall National Monument, the United States first national park site dedicated to LGBT history. It was back in 1969 on the 28th of June when at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in Manhattan that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community took a stand against the prevalent discrimination they were being exposed to as a group and fought for equal rights so it is fitting that after 2 years of rallying from the LGBT community, the National Parks Conservation Association (of which I am a member) and the civic leaders in NYC there is finally a national park that tells the story of the LGBT rights movement. What happened on that day at the Stonewall Inn? Well eight New York City Police Officers conducted a raid of the gay hangout Stonewall Inn for the crime of selling alcoholic drinks to homosexuals which led to the subsequent uprisings by the LGBT community. The tipping point was when a lesbian was clubbed after complaining her handcuffs were too tight, the crowd took to throwing bottles, bricks and overturned police vehicles forcing the eight officers to barricade themselves ironically in the Stonewall Inn until backup arrived.
This image which I captured this week of the iconic Stonewall Inn however has memorial tributes to the tragic and mindless killings that occurred in a club in Orlando earlier this month, candles, flowers and pictures of the 49 dead and 50 injured victims adorn the front of the historic Stonewall Inn and on the barricade that was directly behind me was a banner with the names of all the victims. The shooting was deadliest in US history, and has re-stirred the pot on the second amendment and gun control. These events are distressing and to myself as a loving and proud parent of a member of the LGBT community, it is unnerving to think that if my daughter who is as young as some of the victims when she goes out and has fun could fall victim to a tragic event such as this. Hatred is as old as the human race; biblically speaking, Cain hated Abel and murdered him. Wars have been and continue to be waged because of hatred. One of the signs in the window that probably can’t be made out clearly on the left states “Love conquers hate”, and that is what I pray, that love will conquer hate.
Fund raising is beginning to find a temporary ranger station and eventually build a fitting visitor center for the new National Stonewall Monument.
Taken with Olympus E-5 with a 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD lens RAW image processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/nyregion/stonewall-inn-named-n…
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