Lubbock city officials said this past week that they would comply with the new directive and remove a crosswalk installed in 2020 near the Buddy Holly Center, a downtown museum with exhibits honoring the rock-and-roll legend and Lubbock’s most famous native son, according to an article by the Associated Press.
City officials said they believed the new directive was meant for political messaging. However, with the wording of current instructions given by TxDOT, the city would need to comply with the removal of the artwork, which depicts Buddy Holly’s iconic glasses.
“It’s such a tasteful cross section and people like it. But what do you do?” City Council Member Christy Martinez-Garcia told AP reporters.
Since Abbott’s directive in early October, a couple of cities across the state have agreed to erase their artwork — despite public outcry — stating that the loss of funding for roads was a greater threat.
In Houston, city officials received backlash over the removal of a rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of Taft and Westhiemer, which was installed to honor Michael Alexander Hill, a 21-year-old waiter killed in a hit-and run at the intersection in 2017. After the art was removed at the crosswalk on Oct. 20, Mayor John Whitmire raised the possibility of adding artwork to private property instead of putting city funding at risk.
Abbott’s directive is part of a wider push by the Trump Administration and Republicans.