Gerald Hanks
Houston is the latest U.S. city to commemorate June LBGTQ Pride Month with a paint job.
Videos by Rare
Recently, workers painted rainbow colors on the crosswalk at Westheimer and Taft, in the heart of Houston’s Montrose neighborhood – now a historic and self-proclaimed “gay-borhood” of Texas.
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The crosswalk stands at the site of a memorial to 21-year-old Alex Hill, a Montrose resident who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in January 2016.
The project was created by UP Art Studio and sponsored by Houston Pride, the organizers of Houston’s Pride Week festivities.
Matthew Brollier, one of the leaders behind the crosswalk, told a local TV station the project was intended to “honor the support and friendship many find in Houston’s LGBT community.”
Brollier further said the crosswalk should stand “as a marker of encouragement to all Houstonians and visitors in recognizing the city as a welcoming place, open to all people.”
The theme of the crosswalk also fits in with recent demographic data showing Houston is the most diverse cities in the U.S.
According to the Houston Pride Crosswalk Committee, Houston is the first city in Texas and the largest city in the nation to have a rainbow crosswalk. The site was formerly a major part of Houston’s annual Pride parade, which moved to the downtown area in 2015 to accommodate growing crowds.
Other cities around the U.S. have also adopted rainbow crosswalks, including San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, and Washington, DC.
“It’s a beacon,” Frankie Quijano, Pride Houston President & CEO, said in an interview. “It’s a beacon to let others know we’re here. We’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to continue our fight.”
The paint job should be complete this Sunday – just in time for the Pride Parade.
