Houston Officials Protest Against Rainbow Crosswalk Removal

Since Governor Greg Abbott’s statement to remove all “political ideologies” from public spaces was released, rallies and protests in Texas have taken place.

On Tuesday, Texas officials gathered in Montrose, at the Taft and Westheimer rainbow crosswalk, to protest against Abbott’s strict order to keep roadways free of political or artistic symbols —including rainbow crosswalks— citing safety concerns. Abbott set a time window of 30 days, warning the penalty for not complying is the loss of state and federal road funding. 

“If we lose the battle, and we have to take this off the street, you put it on your house,” Commissioner Rodney Ellis said during the conference. “You go and put it on the yard sign. You roll down the street and stick it out your car window, whatever angle they come up with, we have to find another one.”

Many of the leaders that attended the Tuesday rally were attorneys, expressing discontent and looking to take some legal action against the order.

Among the attendees representing LGBTQ+ organizations and allies were County Attorney Christian Menefee, State Senator Molly Cook, Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones, former Mayor and County Judge candidate Annise Parker, City Controller Chris Hollins, Council Member Mario Castillo, and State Representatives Gene Wu, Christina Morales, Lauren Ashley Simmons, and John Rosenthal.

“We have to stand up to Governor Abbott,” said State Rep. Morales.

Westheimer and Taft intersection holds a special meaning for the LGBTQ+ community. Being the first rainbow crosswalk in Texas, it was originally painted in 2017 in memory of Alex Hill, a 21 year-old who lost his life in a hit-and-run incident. The crosswalk was painted with donations to honor Hill to make it more visible.

“The crosswalk was put here for safety,” Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin said.

Kamin, along with all attendees, stated that the repainting order was a move for content control, describing it as “big government overreach at its worst.” 

“The governor is wasting time obsessing about paint colors while Texans are facing increasing grocery prices, skyrocketing home insurance rates, and over a million Texans are about to lose their health care coverage … We have real problems, and they deserve real leadership,” Kamin concluded.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, has been silent this whole time; his office hasn’t filed a lawsuit to intervene.