Four rainbow crosswalks that have brightened the intersection of North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street since 2018 were stripped away Tuesday morning, sparking a protest and tension between local LGBTQ+ activist organizations.
The move comes after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered cities and counties to remove signs of “political ideologies” from their streets or risk losing state and federal transportation dollars.
About 30 people, most of whom are from San Antonio, protested the removal at the freshly-paved over intersection Tuesday evening. The 6W Project, an Austin-based queer rights group, organized the hour-and-a-half event and posted flyers about it on several light poles along North Main Avenue.
“Where’s our crosswalk? Greg Abbott stole it,” the flyers read. “He illegally threatened to withhold road funding from cities with rainbow crosswalks. Our elected City Council approved the creation of the crosswalk. The Texas Constitution protects our city’s right to make these decisions.”
Attendees waved miniature Pride flags and cheered when passersby honked in support of the protest. One woman hung her head out of the passenger window of a sedan to cheer as the protestors chanted against elected officials, including Abbott.
“It was more than paint,” said Matilda Miller, a San Antonio resident who leads the 6W Project. “It was a symbol to our community and our representation here that the San Antonio city government would stand up for us when it counted. And now it’s gone.”
“It became the wedge that Abbott has used for an authoritarian power grab that undermines our sovereignty as a city and the right to self-governance,” she added.
Several speakers sharply criticized Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who said in November that she didn’t think saving the crosswalk was worth antagonizing Abbott and risking the loss of transportation funding.
On Monday, workers carved out several 6″-diameter circles from the colorful crosswalks for use in a future art installation, though its unclear what that will look like or where it will be displayed.
The city was going to paint the sidewalks along North Main Avenue from East Laurel Avenue to Park Avenue in rainbow colors ahead of the crosswalk removal.
The LGBTQ+ Advisory Board – which has 13 members appointed by the City Council and mayor – worked with the Public Works Department on the design of the rainbow sidewalk stripes.  The corners of intersections where the stripes begin and end were going to include blue, pink and white stripes to represent the transgender pride flag.
But officials hit pause on the plan when Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum sued the city, blasting how staffers secured funding for the work.
City Manager Erik Walsh told council last week that sidewalk plan will be on hold until the body can be briefed in a closed-door executive session.
City Council will meet in executive session for the first time this year on Wednesday.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued that the $170,000 the city set aside for the rainbow sidewalks and crosswalk removal should have gone to City Council for a vote. But the two groups’ overall objectives differed starkly.
Pride San Antonio, a nonprofit that organizes the annual Pride Bigger Than Texas parade and festival, pursued the suit to protect the crosswalk. But the group is expected to withdraw from the suit Wednesday – now that its bid to save the rainbow crosswalk is moot. A district court judge on Friday denied a temporary restraining order to stop the removal.
The Texas Conservative Liberty Forum called rainbow sidewalks a “misuse of public tax dollars” that would be better spent on city services such as policing.
Joe Garza, president of the forum’s San Antonio chapter, said on Facebook that spending money on “a symbolic project benefiting a small fraction of residents reflects poor fiscal judgement and misplaced priorities.”
“Public funds should serve the entire city, not political ideological statements,” he said in the Jan. 7 post.
Attorney Justin Nichols, who represents the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum, said there will be a temporary injunctive hearing Wednesday focused on the sidewalk art proposal.
About $128,000 of the $170,000 budget is for painting the sidewalks, city spokesman Brian Chasnoff said. The rest of the money is for new asphalt, pavement markings and some routine sidewalk repair along the corridor.
The city of San Antonio sought an exemption from the governor’s order on the grounds that the rainbow crosswalks had not made the North Main intersection any less safe. The Texas Department of Transportation denied the request.
Fractured community
Pride San Antonio is facing a strong backlash for joining a lawsuit with Texas Conservative Liberty Forum’s San Antonio chapter. One result of the rift: the creation of a new organization called Pride210.
The fledgling group says its mission is to “advance visibility, safety, and belonging for LGBTQ+ people.”
The group’s website takes jabs at Pride San Antonio over the lawsuit.
“Rather than supporting efforts to preserve LGBTQ+ visibility in public spaces, the lawsuit has delayed progress and created confusion around Pride District improvements,” the site reads.
James Poindexter, the board secretary of Pride San Antonio, said his organization was never against the sidewalk plan. The group wanted San Antonio to do more to fight back against the forced crosswalk removal, he said.
Poindexter also rejects Pride210’s characterization of the lawsuit as a “partnership” between Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum.
The two plaintiffs separately reached out to Nichols, the attorney, who recommended that the groups jointly file a lawsuit because they both wanted City Council to publicly discuss and vote on the Pride Cultural Heritage District projects.
But activist Daniel Pacheco, who formed Pride210 last week, said Pride San Antonio erred in teaming up with the conservative group.
“We’re not trying to take over Pride San Antonio or eliminate them,” Pacheco said. “I know that they’ve done a lot of good in the community for the past 10 to 15 years. I just think the current board is out of touch with the community.”
“Pride210 is a new organization because the community clearly needs a Pride group that rebuilds trust after this lawsuit and the decisions around it,” he said. “If Pride San Antonio continues to exist, that’s their choice, but the community deserves another option that is transparent, accountable and values-aligned.”
Poindexter sees the group in a very different light.
“This is unfortunately a fracturing in our community, which is saddening and almost makes you want to cry,” he said.
Pacheco is board chair of Thrive Youth Center, which provides housing to homeless youth, and a precinct chair for Bexar County Democratic Party. He said Pride210 has the support of about 15 community leaders and has received applications from more than 70 people interested in volunteering with the group.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This article originally published at Protest, new LGBTQ+ organization crop up in wake of rainbow crosswalk removal.