Current:Home > FinanceFlorida won't light bridges in rainbow colors. So Jacksonville's LGBTQ community did. -FinTechWorld
Florida won't light bridges in rainbow colors. So Jacksonville's LGBTQ community did.
View
Date:2025-04-13 08:14:02
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. − As night fell Friday on downtown Jacksonville, 70 people lined the pedestrian walkway of the Main Street bridge and lit up the structure in a ribbon of rainbow colors stretching about the river below.
The display on the eve of Pride Month came after Florida's Department of Transportation decided the nearby Acosta Bridge would be lit in red, white and blue for the state government's "Freedom Summer," meaning it won't have rainbow lights for Pride Month as it did the previous three years.
In response, a group from the LGBTQ community and allies took over the Main Street bridge − illuminating it in the colors of the LGBTQ Pride Flag instead.
"I thought it came off great," said Jacksonville resident Matt McAllister, who helped organize the effort, which came together in 48 hours.
"We thought we'd get 35 people for the bridge," he said. "We thought that would be a good night — that we'd get a couple of pictures and send them to our friends and say we did something. That this took off in such a way is so pleasing."
The 70 people holding flashlights on the bridge were cheered on by a big crowd watching from the Southbank riverwalk. It was a night of many lights in downtown: Friendship Fountain sent columns of multi-colored water into the air where the crowd watched the Main Street bridge, fireworks went off over the baseball field at the sports complex after a Jumbo Shrimp game, downtown towers had their usual array of decorative lighting, and the Acosta Bridge had red, white and blue lights running down the middle of it.
McAllister said he was in Leipzig, Germany, on a honeymoon with his husband when he learned about the state Department of Transportation's directive for the red, white and blue lights from Memorial Day to Labor Day on all state-owned bridges. That also prevents rainbow lights for Pride Month on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay and the Ringling Bridge in Sarasota.
Hearing the news while he was in a city that used to be part of East Germany, McAllister said he decided when he got back home, it was important to take action in response to the state's decision on the Acosta Bridge. He said being able to see the Acosta in red, white and blue and the Main Street bridge in rainbow colors at the same time symbolizes that freedom and diversity are not mutually exclusive but actually depend on each other.
"If this is about freedom, let's go exercise our freedom, and that's what is so special about what we did tonight," he said.
As for whether the bridge lighting was a celebration of Pride Month or a protest of the state's decision, he said there was a wide range of views among those who turned out.
"This is definitely a response and more than a response in protest," said Jacksonville resident Jessica Griffith, who watched the lights from the shore with her father. "We're always going to celebrate who we are, welcome others and make sure they know there are safe, wonderful, affirming, embracing places."
She said her father has "always been a huge supporter of me" and they had been trying for several years to do the annual Pride march over the Acosta Bridge. They weren't able to make the marches so when they heard about the Main Street lighting, they went to it.
"It just reflects the joy and authenticity of everyone here," she said.
Jacksonville resident Sherwin Salla was on the bridge holding an orange-beaming flashlight.
"The biggest thing was just showing solidarity and making sure that our freedom is holding," he said. "It was more of a fun celebration to show our community that we still stand strong."
From his spot on the bridge, he couldn't see the impact of the lighting across the span until a friend texted him a photo.
"When I first saw it, you could really tell the colors on the bridge," he said. "It was amazing."
veryGood! (8977)
Related
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Big 12 paid former commissioner Bob Bowlsby $17.2 million in his final year
- Vermont governor vetoes bill requiring utilities to source all renewable energy by 2035
- Minneapolis police arrest man in hit-and-run at mosque, investigating possible hate crime
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Chick-fil-A has a new chicken sandwich. Here's how it tastes.
- 'The Masked Singer' winner Vanessa Hudgens reveals if she plans on returning to music
- New to US: Hornets that butcher bees and sting people. Humans are fighting back.
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Celine Dion Shares She Nearly Died Amid Battle With Stiff-Person Syndrome
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
- Alaska mayor who wanted to give the homeless a one-way ticket out of Anchorage concedes election
- Those who helped file voting fraud allegations are protected from suit, North Carolina justices say
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- 30 years of clashes between Ticketmaster, artists and fans
- Coast Guard: 3 people missing after boat capsizes off Alaska, 1 other found with no signs of life
- The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce effect? Why sports romance stories are hot right now
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Tennessee attorney general looking into attempt to sell Graceland in foreclosure auction
Birmingham-Southern baseball trying to keep on playing as school prepares to close
Fate of lawsuit filed by Black Texas student punished over hairstyle in hands of federal judge
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Why Robert Downey Jr. Calls Chris Hemsworth the Second-Best Chris
Low-Effort Products To Try if Your Want To Step up Your Fitness for Summer, but You Hate Exercise
Jennifer Lopez shuts down question about Ben Affleck divorce: A timeline of their relationship