Nation's first Black gay congressman visits first landmark for LGBTQ history
Rep Mondaire Jones visits the historic Stonewall Inn
Call it another unique meeting of firsts to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month this year.The nation's first Black gay congressman dropped by its first landmark honoring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) history. And he did so in the company of the nation's first indigenous, American Indian interior secretary.
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who has been making a name for himself as an active US House member in his freshman year, stopped by the storied Stonewall Inn Thursday with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
“I’m honored to celebrate Pride Month with Secretary Haaland at the Stonewall Inn, the site of the first-ever Pride protest and a national landmark in the fight for LGBTQ+ equity,” said Congressman Jones. “Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the progress our community has made, reflect on the work it’s taken to get here, and recommit to the work that remains to secure justice for all LGBTQ+ people.
"At a time when LGBTQ+ rights, and trans rights in particular, are under attack from the far-right, it is as important as ever that we fight to create a world where every LGBTQ+ person can live and thrive as their authentic selves. I know Secretary Haaland and the Biden Administration are committed to this fight, and I’ll continue working in partnership with the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to affirm LGBTQ+ justice,” Jones added.
The Stonewall Inn, a bar located in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, is iconic in LGBTQ history as the site of the Stonewall riots in June 1969, when gay patrons fought back against police violence and targeting of the LGBT community — sparking what would become the wider fight for LGBTQ rights.
President Barack Obama established a 7.7-acre site around Stonewall in 2016 as the Stonewall National Monument.
In a tweet about the event, Jones said, “This #Pride Month, let’s celebrate the experiences of those who came before us as we build on their work in our ongoing fight for equity.”