‘Erasing the hate’: Nashville’s rainbow crosswalk repainted after vandalism

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Two weeks after it was installed, the community returned to Nashville’s first rainbow crosswalk to touch up the paint where it was vandalized.

The rainbow crosswalk is located at the intersection of 14th Street and Woodland Street in East Nashville outside of the Lipstick Lounge, a lesbian-owned bar. It’s meant to be a celebration of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

According to the Metro Council’s LGBTQ Caucus, the crosswalk was vandalized on July 2, but the caucus wasn’t made aware until July 4.

Officials said black paint was “purposefully spilled in multiple locations at the intersection of 14th and Woodland Streets.”

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) told News 2 the incident is under investigation, adding that surveillance footage shows a man wearing a black T-shirt in a white Ford van pouring paint out of the driver’s side window onto the crosswalk at approximately 12:25 p.m. on July 2.

LGBTQ Caucus Chair and District 7 Metro Councilwoman Emily Benedict said she expects the suspect to be charged with destruction of public property once caught.

If you have any information about the driver or the van involved in this vandalism incident, you are asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463 .

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“If somebody wants to come out here and vandalize this artwork, they’re going to get put in their place because we’re going to put the paint back,” Benedict said. “And what most upsets me about this the more I think about it is how the children were here painting originally and it was so good. We had children come out and touch it up. Children love rainbows. This is not just about the LGBTQ community. This is about everyone. This is about being inclusive for everyone.”

Around 50 people came to repaint the rainbow crosswalk on Saturday, July 13.

“There was a huge crowd out here filled with love and joy to repaint this crosswalk,” District 6 Metro Councilman Clay Capp said. “We’ve got more love than they do, and we’ve got more paint than they do, so we repainted.”

Mac Huffington, immediate past president of Nashville Pride, said it’s inspiring to see people of all ages and backgrounds continue to support the LGBTQ+ community no matter the hate that may be thrown their way.

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“What went down today was just erasing the hate that someone previously put on our rainbow crosswalk,” Huffington said. “It means showing our love, our dedication, our passion for being who we are and for expressing who we are. The community outpour again of pride folks, allies, NDOT, the caucus, all of us, again, coming together to show that this is important to us.”

The crosswalk was made possible, in part, through the Nashville Department of Transportation’s Tactical Urbanism Program.

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