Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor faced backlash last month after ordering the removal of rainbow Pride and Trans Pride flag-colored crosswalks from downtown intersections.
Maryland’s first Pride flag crosswalk was painted in 2018 at the intersection of South Division Street and West and East Market Streets near the Wicomico River and the city’s Riverwalk as a symbol of support for LGBTQ inclusion.
More than 60 volunteers, mostly from PFLAG’s Salisbury chapter, came from all over Maryland to help draw the designs. In the years since then, PFLAG and local volunteers have repainted the crosswalk as part of Salisbury’s Pride Month celebrations.
However, recent political changes have made symbols of LGBTQ inclusion and identity less popular.
Mayor insists on “neutrality”
Taylor is a conservative politician who narrowly won a three-way election in 2023. 50 votesfirst floated the idea of removing crosswalks in May, arguing that the city needed to embrace “neutrality.”
“Our city has a diverse and vibrant community, and we want our public spaces to be welcoming to all,” Taylor said in a May 5 interview. press release. “But we also have a responsibility to ensure that government property remains neutral and does not promote any particular movement or cause. By advancing neutral design, we ensure that city property remains a place where all individuals, regardless of their background or beliefs, feel like they belong.”
As part of the announcement, Taylor launched what he calls the “Crosswalk Canvas.” It is a biennial initiative that commissions local artists to design new crosswalks in the city’s downtown that “embody the character, history, or artistic vibrancy of the city of Salisbury, while avoiding political or ideological affiliation.”
Under the terms of the initiative, the selected artist will receive a $3,000 prize and be required to draw a new crosswalk design by September 14th, after which the design will remain for up to two years until a new artist and design is selected for the next Crosswalk Canvas.
Members of Salisbury’s LGBTQ community and their allies were outraged by Taylor’s announcement. Many saw the crosswalk removal as an attack on the city’s generally left-leaning values. They interpreted the mayor’s plan to suggest that LGBTQ visibility, and by extension LGBTQ people, would no longer be welcomed or celebrated in the university town of 33,000 people.
“You don’t make things equal and fair by taking away from underrepresented communities,” said Lisa Taylor, president of the Shore Pride Alliance, now renamed the Salisbury chapter of PFLAG. washington post.
The Fed will also consider
After receiving vocal opposition to the announcement, Taylor initially refrained from painting the rainbow and Pride flag crosswalk. But in July, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy sent a letter asking states to overhaul intersections and roadways and remove street art, including rainbow flag designs, as part of his Safe Streets initiative.
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or works of art,” Duffy said at the time.
Mr Duffy argued that such installations create “dangerous distractions” that can lead to crashes and road deaths, despite research suggesting otherwise.
Taylor did not immediately comply with Duffy’s demands, leading some Salisbury residents to wonder if she would back away from plans to repave the crosswalk. But on November 7, he issued a new statement saying he was moving forward, citing both the need to follow federal guidance and his determination to “maintain neutrality in the public sphere,” as reported by the Salisbury-based ABC affiliate. WMDT.
“It has nothing to do with how I feel about the LGBT community,” he said of the repaving effort. “It has to do with my job as mayor of Salisbury.”
Taylor told WMDT that his “Crosswalk Canvas” initiative was not taken seriously and did not “achieve the broad participation we had hoped for,” claiming that some of the designs submitted were “unacceptable” and others reflected the message of the original crosswalk. As a result, the crosswalk will be repainted with a “neutral design”, he added.
Community anger grows
Three days later, at a contentious city council meeting, council members clashed with Taylor on several issues beyond crosswalks. Mayors are at odds over plans to repave and repaint the intersection of South Division and Market Street.
“Stop criticizing me. I’m on your team,” Taylor said, glaring at the councilman and slamming the table in front of him. “I’ve been here all my life and I’m sick of it. You guys pile on me like I’m better. I don’t get it. Like I’m a bigot or a racist or something. I’m sick of it. I’m not that person.”
A few minutes later, City Council member Michele Gregory responded: “Mayor, if you don’t want to be called a bigot, don’t be a bigot.”
Road maintenance crews began paving the crosswalk on Nov. 11, the morning after the city council meeting, and by 10 a.m. the crosswalk was completely paved.
Many residents were not ready to move on.
“My final reaction when I found out was [the crosswalk is] I just didn’t feel like packing up my business and moving,” said Alfred Brewer, a Salisbury native who moved back to the city with her husband to open a hair salon. washington post.
said Jonathan Franklin, who was a student at Salisbury Community College when he helped repaint the crosswalk in 2023. post He felt that while its presence shows LGBTQ people are part of the urban fabric and makes the community feel “safe,” its removal sends the opposite message.
“This reflects what they are trying to do on a large scale, which is to remove LGBTQ visibility,” he said, citing incidents across the country where conservative mayors and governors have tried to eradicate symbols of LGBTQ identity to curry favor with the Trump administration.
The Shore Pride Alliance responded to the crosswalk removal as follows: Instagram In the post, the organization said it was “saddened” by the development but encouraged by the outpouring of support from allies, including city council members.
“We know that rainbow crosswalks were never meant to be divisive, political, or exclusive; this is confirmed by empirical research that has found time and time again that symbols of inclusivity can help unite and counter marginalization,” the group wrote. “At the end of the day, we can never truly erase love and inclusion, and we are confident that the spirit of our crosswalks will endure until they are reinstalled.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
