The state-mandated removal of a rainbow crosswalk in Montrose last year was a blow to the LGBTQ+ community and, arguably, to Houston, but a compromise in the form of 10 “Progress Pride” flags went up last week, and a welcome bonus was that Mayor John Whitmire paid for it.
The area from Taft to Montrose Boulevard is now designated the Lower Westheimer Banner District.
Longtime LGBTQ+ advocate Jack Valinski, who worked for Houston Pride for 25 years and is a former president of the Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood, is credited with making the banner project happen.
Valinski told the Houston Press that the area was previously designated a banner district back in 1995. Avondale Park — where advocates, supporters and elected officials gathered in the rain Tuesday afternoon for a press conference — used to be the spot where the annual Houston Pride Parade ended. When the parade moved downtown, the district designation was forgotten, Valinski said.
“When we wanted to bring it back after the crossing was gone, it took a year,” he said. “It means visibility. When I did the parade, young people would come out and say, ‘I didn’t know there was a community.’ It’s a progressive flag, and that means it’s all-inclusive. With everything that’s going on with the federal government and in the state, we have a home.”
Valinski said the banner district celebration was not about him. “It’s about the community coming together,” he said. “We’ve come a long way, and we’re losing some ground, but we’ve got to keep on moving.”
Whitmire, who served as a Democrat for 50 years in the Texas House and Senate, now holds a nonpartisan position and has had a tumultuous year with his party. Harris County Democrats admonished Whitmire for attending a fundraiser for Republican lawmaker Dan Crenshaw and some have expressed disappointment in what they say is HPD’s collaboration with ICE.
The admonishment means the party won’t endorse Whitmire in a bid for re-election or to any other office in the future.
However, the mayor’s $10,000 expenditure on Pride flags could make some strides in regaining support from the left-leaning electorate. The mayor implied during Tuesday’s press conference that’s not why he did it.
“Today is just a continuation of my battle for equality, a battle I’ve been fighting my entire public service career,” he said. “There are many stories of heroism, of people who stood shoulder to shoulder during my career.”
Whitmire released a statement last week noting that he was proud to support the banner project, “especially doing it through my own private donation and without using public land.”
“As mayor of the most diverse city in the United States, I feel a responsibility to support projects that reflect the many cultures and communities of Houston,” Whitmire said.
Officials with Pride Houston 365 and the District C city council office said they were prepared to pay for the banners but were grateful that Whitmire stepped up and offered his own dollars so that their money can go toward other meaningful projects.
Pride Houston 365, the organization that hosts Houston’s annual Pride parade, also worked steadily over the past year to ensure that the banner project reached the finish line. Board president Kerry-Ann Morrison said she wanted to honor the city council policymakers, past and present, who supported the banner district, as well as state lawmakers who support inclusivity.
Tuesday’s event was attended by former District C Council Member Abbie Kamin, current District C Council Member Joe Panzarella, At-Large Council Member Alejandra Salinas, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, State Rep. Ann Johnson and U.S. Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.
Morrison and others pointed out that the rainbow crosswalk was originally installed in 2017 to honor the life of Alex Hill, a 21-year-old LGBTQIA+ community member who was killed in a hit-and-run accident at the intersection of Westheimer and Taft.
“When our rainbow crosswalk was torn up last October, it left a visual void in Montrose,” Morrison said. “The neighborhood felt the loss really deeply. That is when the community stepped in and we began to think of a solution. [Valinski] was extraordinary. The amount of work and time he put into this was incomparable. He kept pushing when the process stalled.”
Panzarella pointed out that even though the rainbow crosswalk was removed at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, little flecks of rainbow paint remain at the edge of Westheimer and Taft where the crosswalk used to be. “You can try to paint over symbols of equality,” he said. “You can call Pride political messaging. You can try to remove the color, character and inclusivity of a neighborhood, but you cannot erase the people who made Montrose what it is, and you cannot extinguish its pride.”
As speakers huddled under a pavilion during Tuesday’s rainstorm and guests shared umbrellas as they snapped photos and took video of what was deemed a historic occasion, Morrison said, “Without the rain, there is no rainbow.”
“Somewhere today, someone is arriving in Houston. Someone is driving down Westheimer wondering if there is a place for them here,” Morrison said. “A young LGBTQIA person may look up and see these colors. Without anyone having to say a single word, these banners tell them you are seen and you belong.”
