On Thursday, cities across the Lone Star State had to remove rainbow crosswalks from public streets in compliance with an October directive from Gov. Greg Abbott. By Friday, Planned Parenthood South Texas painted two new ones.
The nonprofit, which provides STD testing, birth control, abortion and more, painted a large, rainbow LGBTQ+ flag outside two of its San Antonio clinics — Richland Hills and Babcock — with the help of volunteers.
The move is “an act of solidarity with our queer communities… to ensure people of all genders and sexualities feel welcomed the moment they arrive,” Planned Parenthood South Texas wrote in a post to Facebook and Instagram on Monday.
The painting will continue throughout the remainder of January until all seven of its San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley clinics don rainbow paint. Local artists Mauro de la Tierra and Souther Recio will lead the project in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, respectively.
“With so much happening in the world, so much harm and fear, things can feel heavy. But sometimes a single act cuts through the noise for a while,” Planned Parenthood South Texas wrote in the caption of a painting time-lapse video posted to Facebook and Instagram. “One brushstroke, one crosswalk… these acts don’t fix everything, but they matter because they insist on hope in the places and in the hearts where hope is being challenged.”
In late December, the City of San Antonio attempted to keep rainbow crosswalks in what’s known as the “Gay Strip” through an exemption filing. However, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which is in charge of carrying out Abbott’s directive regarding political ideologies on roadways, declined.
Nearby Austin has also been affected by these removals. On Oct. 13, a demonstration formed on a well-known rainbow crosswalk on 4th Street. An unknown person not affiliated with the demonstrators threw red paint across the piece of road, and Austin firefighters swooped in for cleanup.
According to Abbott’s announcement in October, the removal of things like rainbow crosswalks is aimed at improving roadway safety. He said, all “non-standard surface markings, signage and signals that do not directly support traffic control or safety are strictly prohibited, including the use of symbols, flags or other markings conveying social, political, or ideological messages.”