It was originally commissioned in 1979 (the 10th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising) by the Mildred Andrews Fund, a Cleveland-based foundation that supports public art displays.

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police forces raided the Stonewall Inn, located on Christopher Street in New York City.

Although many legislators and city organizations endorsed its commission in Greenwich Village, many local residents opposed the plans for the monument's installation.

[1] Shortly after the monument was erected at Stanford, it was brutally vandalized; the culprit(s) physically cut and jabbed into the figures' faces and bodies.

The fact that this attack ensued on a university campus served as a grim reminder of the lack of safety afforded to LGBT individuals in general.

While in Orton Park, the monument was vandalized on at least one occasion, though it was also loved and appreciated by many residents, who would apparently put scarves and hats on the sculpted figures during the winter months.

During the dedication ceremony the following year, Segal apparently was surprised that there were no "religious protesters", as there had initially been considerable controversy over the commission of the monument by Catholic residents of New York City.

Johnson, who identified as a transvestite and "street queen",[10][11][12][13] modeled for Andy Warhol and performed with the drag troupes, Hot Peaches and the Angels of Light.

[18] Lefebvre argued that productions of space have been "colonized" by concrete and stagnant representations that "impose an image" and thereby establish and regulate the commemoration and memorialization of a historical moment or phenomenon.

[18] Genevieve Flavelle, writing in C Magazine, questioned whether the quiet, peaceful Gay Liberation monument adequately pays homage to the revolutionary and tumultuous history of the Stonewall Riots, writing "why does the Gay Liberation monument (1980), a George Segal commission for the 10th anniversary of the Riots, depict four figures quietly socializing in Christopher Park instead of scores of drag queens throwing high heels and ripping parking meters out of the ground?

"[19] Chris E. Vargas, the executive director of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory and Art (MOTHA), suggests it is important to narrate the Stonewall Riots as part of an active, ongoing process of LGBTQ liberation.

Segal has apparently remarked that his sculpture tends to concentrate "...on tenderness, gentleness and sensitivity as expressed in gesture", which allows the viewer to appreciate the intimacy of the partners' relationships.