To kick off Spring Break, a group of Villanovans had the unique opportunity to embark on a pilgrimage to the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan. Housed in the same building as the historic Stonewall Inn gay bar, this monument honors the legacy of the Stonewall rebellions, the bedrock for the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement. The group was supervised by Carly Pais, program specialist from Villanova University’s Office of Belonging and Inclusion (OBI), and Kiva Nice-Webb, the Campus Minister of Retreats.
“We both think it’s really important to experience some of the history of adversities the queer company has experienced,” Pais said. “And we don’t often see a blend of spirituality and the queer community, so we wanted to have an opportunity for those who are interested.”
The Stonewall Inn originally served as a haven for the gay, lesbian and trans communities. Everyone could dance, sing, laugh, drink and be accepted for who they were. On June 28, 1969, it turned into a battlefield.
The tunes from the jukebox that morning were drowned out by sounds of the police bursting through the doors, throwing bottles through the air, and slamming people up against the walls. Serving gay people alcohol was illegal, so gay bars were often run by crime families, and the police exploited both to enable homophobic and transphobic atrocities. For the next six days, community members and their allies banded together for an uprising. They marched through the streets and protested for gay rights so strongly that the country could hear their bold message.
“It reminds me of how much those people gave up and how brave they were, and how much you benefited from their activism and standing up to power,” Jenna Kosnick, a first-year master’s student, said of why she took part in the pilgrimage.
Villanova’s pilgrims were amazed by the exhibits in the monument’s Visitor Center. The Stories of Stonewall details the legacy of the bar, chronicles the history of LGBTQIA+ advocacy and highlights important figures like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. A 1967 Rome AMI jukebox is placed before it, playing the same type of jazzy beats the patrons would hear over glasses of booze.
The Stonewall Generations video series shares the stories of notable activists who fight for justice today, such as Alok Vaid-Menon and B. Hawk Snipes. The Booking.com theater plays short films about LGBTQIA+ travelers and the friendly travel spots that they recommend. Articles, posters and photos were made into an eloquent collage by Parsons School of Design students. Journals were placed underneath the collage with prompts written on their spines that visitors could respond to in order to express their feelings. Reading them could bring even the most stony-faced men to tears.
To the left of the Visitor Center is a recreational tavern modeled after the original Stonewall Inn. Most notable about this tavern are the displays of five Community Pride Flags: LGBTQ+ Rainbow, Bisexual Pride, Transgender Pride, Asexual Pride and More Color, More Pride. Each comes with a description of how it was created.
A park that pays homage to Stonewall’s memory with flags, stamps and statues is situated across from the building. Several of the Transgender Pride symbols are displayed there in resistance to recent erasure of transgender and queer identities in society.
When President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14168, the federal government enforced the notion of the gender binary by withdrawing federal recognition of transgender and queer people. The National Park Service (NPS) even shortened “LGBTQ+” to “LGB” on its web pages.
“Hatred is a blinding thing, and it causes people to forget that other people live similar to them, even at a place like Villanova: we walk on the same campus, we eat the same dining hall food, we go to the same classes, we are all part of the Villanova community,” junior Marv McAnally, a proud transgender student, said.
Emotions varied among the pilgrims on the trip: happy, enlightened, bittersweet, impactful, inspired, angry. However, what was universal was a renewed understanding of their responsibilities—to create a world where the soul is acknowledged over all else.
Villanova offers multiple LGBTQIA+ resources, such as VU Pride, OASIS, NATS and the Counseling Center’s LGBTQIA+ Support Group. Further information about these resources and the Stonewall National Monument can be found at https://www1.villanova.edu/university/student-life/belonging-and-inclusion/lgbtqia.html and nps.gov/ston/index.htm.
