SAN ANTONIO – Several LGBTQ+ organizations and allied organizations rallied together Thursday evening to fight for the rainbow crosswalk to stay in the Pride Cultural Heritage District.
The event was titled ‘Unity in the Community’ and comes after directives from state and federal officials to remove the rainbow-painted crosswalk for alleged safety concerns.
“I never thought in my lifetime I would see marriage equality, and we did,” Autumn Summers said at the event. “I never thought that we would get a crosswalk, and we did. Now they’re trying to take it away from us.”
A cyclist, who identifies as heterosexual and happened to pass by the event, said he finds the crosswalk ‘very festive’ and said he doesn’t feel like it should go away.
The crosswalk is in the crosshairs of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SAFE ROADS initiative, which states intersections and crosswalks should be “kept free from distractions.”
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive in early October stating that all cities and counties in Texas must comply with the order. He gave cities and counties 30 days to be in compliance with the directive.
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a July 1 press release.
George Perez, a director on the board of Pride San Antonio, said he believes it is an attack on marginalized communities.
“This is what they want,” Perez said. “They want us to cower. They want us to fear.”
Several people said they do not believe the crosswalk poses a risk to public safety.
“It’s simply a crosswalk,” said Lonnie Grady-Trevino, president of nonprofit Alamo Empire. “We have the safety. The safety part is we walk across this as any other, the only difference is it’s colorful.”
If the crosswalk is removed, attendees said they are prepared to march the streets, among other steps, to make sure their voice is heard.
“We’ll find another way,” Grady-Trevino said. “If these buildings start going up in rainbow, it’s gonna show that this is a network of community.”
Those in attendance at the event said they hope it doesn’t reach that point.
“This crosswalk, it may be as simple as just like paint on the road, but to me it means that I can be here,” said Angelli Angara, who identifies as lesbian. “I can stand here, I can be safe, and I can feel like myself.”
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones made a late evening appearance at the event. Representatives from District 6 and District 7 also made appearances, including Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito.
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