The role that lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, and transgender individuals played in the history of the United States is to be explored by the National Park Service, which will launch the effort Tuesday with a panel discussion involving Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and the U.S. ambassador to Australia along with LGBT scholars and historians.
The goal of the initiative is to identify places and events associated with the story of LGBT Americans for inclusion in the parks and programs of the National Park Service.
The discussion Tuesday will explore ways to celebrate and interpret lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in the context of broader American history, a release from the Interior Department said. Prior to the panel discussion, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Ambassador John Berry will deliver kick-off remarks.
The goals of the heritage initiative include: engaging scholars, preservationists and community members to identify, research, and tell the stories of LGBT associated properties; encouraging national parks, national heritage areas, and other affiliated areas to interpret LGBT stories associated with them; identifying, documenting, and nominating LGBT-associated sites as national historic landmarks; and increasing the number of listings of LGBT-associated properties in the National Register of Historic Places.
The history of Civil Rights underscores a large part of American experience. The National Park Service is proud to be a part of this continuing legacy of freedom and justice. Directed by Americans to steward and teach the nation’s history, the National Park Service connects and amplifies important national stories in cooperation with partner communities across the United States.
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Comments
I imagine the Stonewall Inn would be an obvious (and worthy) candidate for inclusion given that it's already a National Historical Landmark.
I imagine the Stonewall Inn would be an obvious (and worthy) candidate for inclusion given that it's already a National Historical Landmark.
I think this is long overdue. LGBT contributions to American history are routinely ignored or disputed, and I'm glad to see the NPS take part in correcting this.
While it sounds like they are mostly targeting sites associated with the 20th century gay rights movement (e.g., Harvey Milk's photo shop in San Francisco, Frank Kameny house in DC), I'd like to see them cover other issues as well. For example, the contributions of LGBT individuals to major American cultural movements, such as the Harlem Renaissance or Transcendentalism. (These movements already have many associated sites in the national register, but the LGBT aspect is rarely mentioned).
I'd like to see Cambridge City Hall (site of the first same-sex weddings) included.
What does this have to do with the National Park Service?? What it really is ,is another 'group" trying to push an agenda. More politically correct BS.
Sorry but I don't equate someones sexual preference to culture
Which is like saying African Americans prefer to be black, and they have been victims of discrimination based on that preference.
Well, look, if the NPS wants to designate the Stonewall Tavern in New York City a National Historical Site, that's fine with me. It's in keeping with the concept that it's running a series of museums, from the outdoor variety (e.g., Zion) to the historical kind (there's probably one for John Brown or Nat Turner, for example, and certainly there's Independence Hall).
But this is all such a side-show. Outside magazine makes the case that some of us have been making on this page for years: that the NPS might as well be called the National Museum Service and that it is blowing it big-time on recreation, with Sally Jewell the latest offender (focusing on, e.g., trying to attract inner-city kids who inevitably will find outdoor recreation about as exciting as a visit to a vaccination clinic, while continuing to ignore people who want to recreate in the parks, because there's the risk they might have fun and God knows we can't have that in our outdoor places of moral uplift):
http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-state...
I would hope NPT would provide a link to the article on its home page and get everyone here to read it.