the removal of crosswalk art<\/a> in compliance with the Texas Department of Transportation\u2019s October 2025 letter. This ordered cities to remove all pavement markings with political messaging or other distractions that may \u201ccompromise safety.\u201d Cities were given 30 days to remove artwork before they were subject to the withholding or denial of state and federal funding.<\/p>\nAmong these murals are the rainbow crosswalks on West 4th Street and the \u201cBlack Artists Matter\u201d mural on East 11th Street. The city\u2019s request to preserve this artwork was denied, and the city must submit an action plan for the murals by June 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe edict about these murals was meant to create sadness, be demeaning and cater to those who discriminate,\u201d Mayor Watson said in a speech at the block party. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous that with all our needs, and all the good we could be doing, some people use their power to divide \u2026 people and to devalue things that make our communities special.\u201d<\/p>\n
In November 2025, Watson formed the Public Spaces Task Force, a group of representatives from multiple Austin districts and cultural communities focused on finding state-compliant ways to celebrate diversity in Austin, which led to this weekend\u2019s events.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw this as an opportunity to show we can overcome bullies, be who we are and maybe even figure out better ways to show our happy diversity,\u201d Watson posted Friday on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s block party took place at the \u201cBlack Artists Matter\u201d mural in the Six Square Cultural District in East Austin, which is named for the six square miles relegated to Black Austin residents in the 1920s, said Six Square CEO Daphne McDole. Today, it is the only African American cultural district in Texas.<\/p>\n
Attendees celebrated Juneteenth as well as the improvements made to the district by the task force, including removing abandoned vehicles and repairing streetlights. Although the mural will be removed, lampposts will soon feature artwork highlighting the district, said McDole, a member of the task force.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to remember what this part of town reflects, which is a lot of diversity, a lot of hard work and a lot of legacy,\u201d said Steven Rivas, chair of the Public Spaces Task Force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Watson welcomed the community to the Bettie Naylor district on West 4th Street, where rainbow crosswalks in support of the LGBTQ+ community will be removed. Residents were asked to contribute to a new mural on the sidewalk near Colorado Street, made of rainbow hearts and other designs.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The) community painting and celebration prove that the special ingredient that makes Austin special is more than just markings on pavement,\u201d Watson wrote.<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s Task Force plans on adding more art and public spaces to both districts in the near future. Rivas said they plan on a gateway to the 11th Street corridor to mark the area as a historic district, as well as more murals honoring the names of prominent African Americans who are a part of the history of East Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the 4th Street Bettie Naylor district, Rivas said the city plans to close through traffic between Lavaca and Colorado streets to add a small community space and a possible art installation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe choices made by the state were meant to be mean, create chaos, and cause sadness,\u201d Watson wrote in the \u201cWatson Wire,\u201d his newsletter. \u201cThe choices we\u2019re making to celebrate our diverse communities again (show) that Austin can and will rise above negative efforts and always look for opportunities to create joy and belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: Associate News Editor Diego Hernandez contributed to the reporting of this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Kirk Watson hosted a Juneteenth block party and a community mural painting event this weekend with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-345273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}