Uncensored
As “America’s storyteller”, the National Park Service is dedicated to protecting history and culture. This includes telling the stories of all Americans.
Unfortunately, some of these stories are under attack.
On February 13th, 2025, the words “transgender” and “queer” were erased from the Stonewall National Monument website. Since then, this censorship of websites and park exhibits has expanded to include the removal or deceitful editing of topics concerning transgender and queer experiences, contributions of women and people of color, climate change, and more.
To date, over 100 NPS webpages have been deactivated and, in a more subtle attempt at erasure, over 200 references to “LGBTQ” have been changed to “LGB”. These efforts are an attempt to erase and alter history.
Uncensored exists to ensure these efforts are unsuccessful.
The following content, which has been censored by the current administration, has been preserved by the Internet Archive. This is an ongoing project and will be updated as more content is inevitably censored.
We invite you to explore YOUR American history.
Have you seen censorship at a national park site? Give us a heads up at resistanceranger@proton.me.
Transgender Experiences
The National Park Service’s purge of queer history is part of a larger ongoing attack on the rights of transgender people. Language has power; by attempting to control the narrative around transgender history, the current administration is sending a clear message about power and rights.
We as park rangers have another message: Transgender people have always been here. We will continue to tell the stories of all Americans, and we invite you to explore information about trans and gender non-conforming people central to National Park Service sites.
These are the pages that have been deleted from the NPS sites, but that you can still view thanks to the Internet Archive and the work of Resistance Rangers:
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![Person holding a sign that reads "Power to the People," standing against a brick wall, smoking a cigarette, and wearing a dark coat.]()
Marsha P. Johnson- Stonewall National Historical Park, NY
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![A young woman poses on a jacket draped on a water fountain's edge. She wears a white shirt and grey pants.]()
Sylvia Rivera- Stonewall National Historical Park, NY
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![A young black woman sits on a folding table. She wears a bandana tied around her forehead with a crop top and jeans.]()
Zazu Nova- Stonewall National Historical Park, NY
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![Black and white photo of a person with short wavy hair and glasses. They are wearing a jacket over a black shirt with a clerical collar]()
Pauli Murray- Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, NY
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![Black and white sketch of a man wearing a brimmed hat and a suit jacket]()
Jack Bee Garland- Golden Gate National Recreation Area, CA
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![Black and white photo of a man with a short, military haircut, wearing a button up uniform jacket]()
Albert Cashier- Vicksburg National Military Park, MS
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![A person with curled hair wears an 18th century black gown with a white scarf tied around their neck]()
The Public Universal Friend's Home- NY
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![Two people with long wavy hair and bangs lean into each other. They are both wearing a white garment and a lacy white neck adornment]()
Women of the Pimería Alta-Gender and Sex- The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, CA, AZ, & Sonora, Mexico. Tumacácori National Historical Park, AZ
Whitewashing History
While the majority of pages that have been completely removed from nps.gov featured trans and queer history, a large number of additional web pages about a variety of subjects have been heavily edited in recent weeks. These edits are more subtle forms of censorship but they often divert readers’ attention away from issues like race, gender, colonialism, or class, and point to a larger story the federal government is trying to tell about the stories it values.
Compare these webpages to their counterparts before censorship. How has the shift in language in these articles changed the message they are sending?
When you click on a brown Learn More box, you will leave the Rangers website and view the original webpage with the censored one side by side in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. For best results on mobile, use landscape mode (turn your phone horizontal).
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![Black and white photo of a black woman in a dark 19th century dress with a white collar. Her hands are folded and placed on a chair back.]()
What is the Underground Railroad?
Note that after public outcry, these changes were reversed on the evening of April 7th, 2025. This reversal does not erase the attempt to sanitize this history, but it does show that public pressure has the capacity to uncensor previously censored content.
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![A two story federal style building with a clock tower in the center.]()
250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
“The aspirational vision in the Declaration defines the ideals that set the United States on a course of continued work toward a more perfect union” was struck from the text, and the header “America’s National Parks: Inspiring a More Perfect Union” was removed entirely, along with other edits. Review the changes for yourself to see how the reflect the change in values with the new administration.
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![Historic building surrounded by trees with an American flag on a flagpole and manicured lawn]()
Arlington House Visitor Expectations & Language Resource
Arlington House tells about enslavement and the legacy of Robert E. Lee. It builds that talk around informed, empathetic language. Its language guide is a model for other parks. But the NPS has censored its content linking enslavement to present-day racism.
Comprehensive Study & Pride Guide
“LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History” is a 1000+ page project published in 2016. This study served as the National Park Service’s comprehensive guide to United States queer history. The companion “Pride Guide” offers a condensed version of the information in the Theme Study as well as activities and discussion questions. Deleted from the NPS sites, but we are keeping them accessible here:
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![Text reads "LGBTQ+ America: A theme study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history" over a background of colorful dots, with red a the top transitioning through the rainbow to blue at the bottom]()
LGBTQ+ Theme Study
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![Text reads "The Pride Guide" over a rainbow watercolor background]()
The Pride Guide: An Interactive Workbook
LGBTQ+ Stories throughout our Parks
In addition to removing articles about transgender folks, the order to remove the word “queer” from National Park Service websites has led to deletion of many additional resources about LGBTQ+ history. We are keeping those stories alive here:
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![Portrait of a man with white hair wearing a revolutionary war era military uniform decorated with several metals]()
The General von Steuben Statue: Interpreting LGBTQ+ Histories of the Revolution
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![Shot of a historic marker describing gay rights demonstrations held at Independence Hall. Independence Hall is shown in the background]()
The Philadelphia LGBTQ Heritage Initiative
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![Photo of the White House lit up with rainbow colors. The Washington Monument is also seen in the background]()
Series: Finding Our Place: LGBTQ Heritage in the United States
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![A line of protesters hold signs on picket. The woman at the front of the line holds one that reads "Sexual Preference is Irrelevant to Federal Employment"]()
DC Queer History Tour
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![Poster reads "would you rather have a vote than a husband?" with arguments for yes and no]()
The Very Queer History of the Suffrage Movement
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![Photo taken from behind the shoulder of a person in a flannel shirt standing at a podium addressing a crowd of people who are clapping. They are all inside a room with a historic clock on the wall, and pillars holding up a gallery holding more people]()
Gay and Lesbian Town Meeting
Climate, Sustainability, and more
It is not just queer history being erased from National Park Service websites. Check out some of the many other pages on Climate, Sustainability, and other topics that have been removed from NPS websites since January 20:
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![Text reads "Green Parks Plan: Third Edition Advancing the National Park Service Mission Through Sustainable Operations" Over a background photo of tall pine trees]()
Sustainability in the National Park Service Subject Site
The Green Parks Plan was completely removed from the NPS website. The third edition of the plan (released in January 2023) is preserved on the archived page, found at the link below.
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![Photo of a landscape including a large snow capped mountain in the background. Closer there is a large hill and a body of water]()
Denali or Mount McKinley?
This webpage, once titled “Denali or Mount McKinley?” has been renamed to “Naming a Mountain.” Compare the archived version to the current version of the webpage and you’ll notice that the “Origins of the Name Controversy” section has been removed, along with many other significant edits.
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Climate Change at Lowell National Historical Park
The climate change page at Lowell National Historical Park was removed. This page included information on climate change as an unintended consequence of the industrial revolution, as well as a section on what the park is doing to reduce its carbon footprint.
What’s next?
The stories featured here are just a tiny fraction of the web pages that have been censored by this administration. We will continue developing this list as more are removed.
Are you aware of an instance of censorship at a national park site? reach out to us on Instagram @rangers_uncensored, on Bluesky @rangers-uncensored, or by email at resistanceranger@proton.me