The rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of 14th and Woodland streets
Surveillance footage released Friday shows the driver of a white van pouring what appears to be black paint onto the new rainbow crosswalk installed outside East Nashville lesbian bar The Lipstick Lounge. The vandalism occurred Tuesday, only a few days after the crosswalk was installed on June 29.
Speaking at the crosswalk Friday afternoon, District 7 Councilmember Emily Benedict, chair of the Metro Council's LGBTQ Caucus, told reporters she wasn't surprised by the incident, which she learned about late Thursday night. She doesn't know why the driver — who appears to be a white male — targeted the crosswalk, but said she would like to speak with him and help him understand the trials facing the LGBTQ community.
“Let's have a conversation about what it is to be a lesbian,” Benedict said. “I really would like to sit down with this guy — not to berate him at all. So that he can gain an understanding of the importance of this empathy.”
Emily Benedict at the rainbow crosswalk outside The Lipstick Lounge
The painting of the crosswalk at the intersection of 14th and Woodland streets was a community event and brought out nearly 200 Nashvillians, including members of the LGBTQ Caucus, state Rep. Aftyn Behn and state Sen. Heidi Campbell.
“It was kids, seniors, retired folks and everybody in between,” said Benedict. “It was drag queens. It was straight allies. ... It was exactly who East Nashville is.”
Clay Capp at the rainbow crosswalk outside Lipstick Lounge
District 6 Councilmember Clay Capp, who represents the neighborhood where the intersection is located, said Friday afternoon that the crosswalk has been positively received since it was painted. He said that while the vandalism was frustrating, it won't “deter or stop anything.”
“This is a significant beacon of equality,” Capp said. “We're proud of it. I'd rather focus on the the overwhelming support of the community for this.”
The rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of 14th and Woodland streets. Black paint is on the purple stripes.
Benedict said the LGBTQ community has pushed for a rainbow crosswalk for years, and was able to make it happen as part of the Nashville Department of Transportation's tactical urbanism program, which supports a diverse array of traffic safety initiatives. She said the rainbow paint not only celebrates the LGBTQ community in Nashville but also makes the crosswalk more visible and safer.
According to Benedict, there was no real resistance or protest at the Saturday event other than one man preaching. While state legislators from neighboring towns and counties have repeatedly targeted Tennessee's LGBTQ community, including an attempt this year to ban Pride flags, Benedict said Nashville doesn't share those values and “wants the LGBTQ community.”
“We have got to stand up for our LGBTQ neighbors,” said Capp. “An attack on anyone's equality is attack on all of our equality.”
Footage of the driver pouring paint can be viewed below. Benedict hopes a surveillance camera from a nearby business captured the license plate number.
Update, July 9: On Monday, Metro Councilmembers Emily Benedict and Clay Capp announced plans to repaint the rainbow crosswalk that was marred by vandalism last week. Benedict, who represents District 7 and heads the council's LGBTQ Caucus, told reporters the Nashville Department of Transportation still had “gallons and gallons” of paint leftover from the initial crosswalk painting event.
The event will take place Saturday, July 13, at 9 a.m. at the intersection of 14th Street and Woodland Street, outside venerable lesbian bar The Lipstick Lounge.
Both councilmembers also noted the march of white supremacists that took place in downtown Nashville over the weekend. Benedict stressed that the hate group, Patriot Front, was not just anti-LGBTQ but also "anti-American" and did not represent Nashville or Tennessee's values.
Capp, who represents District 6, where the crosswalk is located, again emphasized the broad community support he's seen for the crosswalk and said acts like this won't deter future events.
Police are still searching for the suspect, believed to be a white man, who poured black paint on the crosswalk. Benedict said she asked the district attorney's office about the possibility of the act being a hate crime but doesn't “have an answer to that yet.”
In light of the march and vandalism, Benedict admitted she isn't sure whether hostile protesters or harassment will manifest at the repainting event, but she hopes not. “If [they] do, I think that we're gonna outnumber them,” she said, noting that the surrounding streets will be closed and that security will be present.
