Here’s the real reason why the Statue of Liberty went dark last night
East coasters saw a very rare phenomenon last night. The Statue of Liberty in New York City strangely went dark for a short period of time. Because of the current political climate and International Women’s Day, many people thought that the outage was a symbolic statement. So they were immediately entranced by the rare sight.
But the National Parks Service issued a formal response as to why Lady Liberty lost her lights.
And it has nothing to do with politics.
According to the organization, the darkness on the iconic statue was simply due to a power outage. Though people had all sorts of interesting theories thanks to the timing of outage, the service has assured everyone that it was because of ongoing construction in the area. The lights went off because they were working with a backup emergency generator.
Some lights on the Statue were temporarily off tonight. Likely related to new emergency generator/Hurricane Sandy recovery project work.
— Statue of Liberty NM (@StatueEllisNPS) March 8, 2017
Of course, the incredible timing of the outage wasn’t lost on people.
Lots of onlookers decided to take Lady Liberty’s disappearance from the night sky as a symbol of her standing in solidarity. For them, it seemed too meaningful to ignore.
I'm with her.
Statue of Liberty. 🖤🗽 pic.twitter.com/S5k8MkenZH— Lynese Wallace (@lynesewallace) March 8, 2017
Wow! The Statue Of Liberty is dark tonight. Looks like someone is getting an early start to #ADayWithoutAWoman. 🇺🇸❤️ #ImWithHer @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/odLbMHFFvS
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) March 8, 2017
false false
And, TBH, it totally does feel like something right out of a movie. false
For many people, it doesn’t matter that the outage was simply accidental.
The lights are out at the Statue of Liberty…that's ONE MORE woman America CANNOT do without. #adaywithoutwomen #LightsOut
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) March 8, 2017
The lady stands with the women in solidarity. #statueofliberty #daywithoutawoman pic.twitter.com/PiDBzlh3kO
— The Thinking Hat 🇮🇳 (@ThinkinHashtag) March 8, 2017
Lights are out at the #StatueOfLiberty. A somber & surreal moment as we head into a #DayWithoutAWoman. @womensmarch #RESIST #WhyIMarch ✊🏽❤ pic.twitter.com/3Tdy082zwH
— THEE Honorable Grandma Votes Blue 🍷 (@JoeKamalaTicket) March 8, 2017
We get that sometimes these things happen. But it’s certainly fascinating something like this happens the day before a major women’s strike.
But whether or not this was truly a coincidence, the symbolism remains powerful. And as we celebrate women this month and especially today, it remains important to remember the symbolism of the beautiful Statue of Liberty.
