Last month, several hundred people gathered in Greenwich Village to celebrate the opening of a new visitor center at Stonewall National Monument and to honor the movement Stonewall set in motion as the “birthplace for Pride.” Mark Segal is a longtime activist and journalist who participated in the momentous events that took place here in June 1969, and he curated the interpretive exhibit featured in the new visitor center.

In this episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks with Segal on the events of the uprising and how it shaped his lifetime of activism. We also feature NPCA Northeast Program Manager Timothy Leonard who has spent 10 years working with the coalition that helped create and support the monument, as well as clips from the grand opening event, featuring President Joe Biden and Pride Live CEO Diana Rodriguez, the driving force behind the new visitor center.

Special thanks to the staff of Pride Live, NPCA Communications Director Alison Zemanski Heis and NPCA Northeast Regional Director Kristen Sykes.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center and make a reservation to visit at StonewallVisitorCenter.org

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America’s national parks for present and future generations. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

And we’re proud of it, too.

You can join the fight to preserve Stonewall National Monument and all of our national park sites. Learn more and join us at npca.org