JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville LGBTQ+ organization is launching an artistic response after the city painted over rainbow-colored crosswalks to comply with state regulations on road markings.
The JAX LGBT Chamber of Commerce has created a new initiative called “Will Not be Erased” to install murals, sidewalk art and parking lot paintings celebrating the LGBTQ+ community’s history and presence in the city.
“What we’re doing is trying to show visibility and to our LGBTQ+ community that Jacksonville people do love and care about them and accept them just the way they are,” said David Vandygriff, CEO and founder of the JAX LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
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The city recently covered several colorful crosswalks, including rainbow-painted ones, with black paint to comply with state rules prohibiting non-standard surface road markings that could distract drivers.
“The crosswalks is a way of looking at acceptance and when they were erased, you have a flood of emotions and you feel like we’ve taken ten steps back,” Vandygriff said.
The first new mural is planned for the corner of Lomax and Park Streets, just feet away from one of the blacked-out crosswalks. Work on the mural is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
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Additional artwork locations under consideration include areas near Hardwicks, Incahoots, and a church in Riverside. The organization aims to complete the first mural by the start of Jacksonville Pride in October.
“We will not be erased,” Vandygriff emphasized, highlighting the group’s determination to maintain visibility in the community.
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