The mayor of Salisbury, Maryland has announced that three Pride flag crosswalks located in his city’s downtown area will be painted over in order to “maintain neutrality in public spaces.” The city is now soliciting artists to propose designs that “[embody] the character, history, or artistic vibrancy of the city,” WMDT reported.

One LGBTQ Nation reader has accused the mayor of “erasing” the local LGBTQ+ community amid Republican efforts to remove LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion in public life.

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“Our city is home to a diverse and vibrant community, and we want our public spaces to be welcoming to all. However, we also have a responsibility to ensure that government property remains neutral and does not promote any particular movement or cause,” Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor said. “By moving forward with a neutral design, we are ensuring that city property remains a place where every individual, regardless of background or belief, feels they belong.”

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The city has launched the Crosswalk Canvas offering artists a $3,000 stipend for a design that “aligns with the city’s commitment to keeping public spaces free of political or ideological influence while ensuring they remain welcoming and inclusive for all residents.”

The city will choose the winning design by July 14; the decision will be made by panel of city officials and community representatives from the Public Art Committee. The winning artist will begin repainting the crosswalks on July 15, and finish by mid-September. The new designs will remain for up to two years.

The city’s first rainbow crosswalk was painted in 2018 by over 60 Salisbury PFLAG volunteers who donated paint and materials. It was the state’s first rainbow crosswalk, and volunteers traveled from as far as three hours away to help paint it, according to the Salisbury chapter of PFLAG.

The second and third crosswalks — bearing images of the transgender and Progress Pride flags — were painted in 2021 and annually touched up with paint each October starting in 2022 in observation of LGBTQ+ History Month.

“This is grassroots visibility being erased by government policy—and it’s happening in a place where the LGBTQ+ community already faces hostility,” one reader wrote LGBTQ Nation. “The crosswalk was approved by a prior [mayoral] administration … The new administration’s push for ‘neutrality’ is really about erasure.”

Republican- and conservative-led political bodies have tried to outlaw the display of Pride flags as well as various public acknowledgements of LGBTQ+ identities under policies opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

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