by Joe Siegel

Texas is the latest state to call for the elimination of rainbow crosswalks, a move that has infuriated members of the LGBTQ community.

A story in the October 10 edition of the Dallas Voice stated: “The Oak Lawn Gayborhood’s recently restored rainbow crosswalks could be destroyed any day now thanks to a 2013 Federal Highway Administration and a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott, according to reports by CBS News and other media outlets. Cities that fail to remove rainbow crosswalks and any other crosswalk art stand to lose millions in federal road funding, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned governors in July.”

“Abbott … ordered the Texas Department of Transportation to start strictly enforcing that federal rule. The 2013 rule prohibits any art in crosswalks, apart from certain patterns in earth tones, because such art ‘degrades pedestrian safety.’”

Tammye Nash, managing editor of the Dallas Voice, wrote about the response of various LGBTQ organizations to the controversy. “GLAAD, Texas Latino Pride, Pride in Dallas, Dallas Social Queer Organization, ReVoyce and Dallas Pride issued the following joint statement:

‘Dallas’ Rainbow Crosswalks, located at the heart of our Cedar Springs neighborhood, are a symbol of unity and hope and serve as a powerful display of the LGBTQ community’s resiliency and influence in North Texas. This privately funded project, thanks to efforts from the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, operates for the community and by the community.  …

“Texas faces many challenges, especially when it comes to infrastructure. Instead of prioritizing what color the roads are, we call on state officials in Texas to focus on what really matters: ensuring our roads are safe to drive on, that our small businesses have the means to continue to operate and that the rights of LGBTQ Texans are protected.”

Nash believes removing the rainbow crosswalks is an attack on free speech and the LGBTQ community.

“Rainbow crosswalks in LGBTQ neighborhoods, like those along Cedar Springs Road in Dallas’ Oak Lawn Gayborhood — especially those like our Gayborhood crosswalks that were paid for, not once but twice, by private donations — are a form of speech,” Nash said. “They are an expression of freedom, an expression of identity and, yes, an expression of our pride in our community and in our identity as LGBTQ community and LGBTQ individuals. Attacking that expression is attacking our speech.”

Nash points the finger at conservative anti-gay politicians trying to inflame their voters. “We are fodder for them as they do everything they can to rile up their racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, xenophobic voter base. Some of them just attack their targets, including us, outright. Others try to slather a weak veneer of civility over their bigotry. That’s what this is. Greg Abbott is using his ‘public safety’ bullshit as a veneer over bigotry, hatred and political maneuvering and manipulation.”

Nash said the LGBTQ community remains defiant. “I do know that this community will not let [the crosswalks] be painted over without a fight. I am not sure yet how they are fighting, but they are fighting.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 9