The queer community in Orlando has condemned the overnight removal of the rainbow crossing memorial painted outside Pulse nightclub in commemoration of the victims of the 2016 mass shooting. By the afternoon of Thursday, August 21, LGBTQ+ people and allies had gathered, chalk and Pride flags in hand, and set about restoring the rainbow stripes that had been stripped away the night before.
The crossing had been created in 2017, one year after the horrific Pulse nightclub massacre in which 49 people were killed and dozens more were injured. The rainbow stripes were intended as both a tribute to the lives lost and a symbol of solidarity in the wake of what was then the deadliest mass shooting in the United States.
However, earlier this week, the memorial colours were painted over in black after the Florida Department of Transportation issued a directive prohibiting crosswalk markings or surface art “associated with social, political, or ideological messages”. Without notifying the city, workers removed the rainbow in the early hours of the morning.
The decision drew immediate condemnation. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called it “a cruel political act”, describing the removal as a callous effort that disregarded both safety procedures and the sensitivities of a grieving community.
Brandon Wolf, who lived through the massacre, described the erasure of the Pulse memorial as “a desecration of the victims’ memories”. On social media, he wrote: “In the dark of night, they came to erase our show of solidarity, our declaration that we will never forget.”
State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, himself a member of the LGBTQ+ community, accused the Department of Transportation of “illegally vandalising city property without approval”, standing in front of the repainted crossing in a video message.
Yet, what might have been intended as an erasure has instead galvanised the city. Community members wasted no time in reclaiming the space, using chalk to colour over the black paint, filling the street once more with vibrant stripes.
For those who gathered, it was both a tribute to lost loved ones and a public declaration that they will not be silenced. In the face of adversity, residents and allies continue to honour the memories of those lost at Pulse.
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