Wisconsin unveils a beautiful set of rainbow crosswalks as other states backtrack
"To anyone who sees these rainbows as a 'divisive' or 'political' symbol, we ask 'who made them political — and WHY?'”
Mark
Rainbow crosswalks have been making headlines in recent weeks for all the wrong reasons. The state of Florida ordered its cities to remove such crosswalks and other street art following legislation endorsed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Many in the local LGBTQ+ community expressed particular dismay when the rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse memorial in Orlando subsequently disappeared. Last weekend, workers in Miami ripped up the local rainbow crosswalk after an appeal made by city officials against the state order failed.
Therefore, it’s heartening to see one state moving in the opposite direction. Over the weekend, a beautiful new set of rainbow crosswalks appeared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were launched with a dedication attended by local activists and dignitaries, including Mayor Cavalier Johnson, on Monday.
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Acclaimed street artist Jeremy Novy created the crosswalks, in collaboration with the local Wisconsin LGBT History Project. Novy added some of his signature koi carp, which appear to float above the sidewalk.
Wisconsin LGBT History Project
The Wisconsin LGBT History Project previously helped install the city’s first rainbow crosswalks in Cathedral Square in 2018. Community-funded, the new crosswalks did not utilize any tax dollars. They stand at the intersection of South Second Street and West National Avenue in Walker’s Point. The district has long been a home to LGBTQ businesses.
“The crosswalks will honor those who created and held space for the LGBTQ communities long before the word LGBTQ existed,” Michail Takach, Board Chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, told GayCities. “Like the Friendly Bar (opened December 1944), Nite Beat (a lesbian bar opened in 1959), and Your Place (opened May 1965 as Milwaukee’s first gay bar owned by a gay couple).”
The crosswalks were dedicated on Monday to the memory of Jim Dorn, who owned Your Place.
Walker’s Point
“Historically, Walker’s Point is Milwaukee’s oldest and most diverse neighborhood. It is also one of the city’s drunkest and roughest neighborhoods — by 1915, there were over 200 taverns in an eight-block stretch. This was a defiantly man-only space where men lived almost entirely sexually segregated lives: at work, at home, at play,” says Takach.
“There were earlier, older gay bars … But when Your Place opened, displaced gay bars started relocating here from other parts of the city and new ones began popping up as well. The mood of the straight tavern owners was, ‘everyone should have a tavern to call their own, there are Polish taverns, Mexican Taverns, Irish taverns, why not gay bars?’ Dorn and his partner, Jerry Stinson, and his parents ran the space as an upscale gay cocktail lounge, but to the outside world it was just another family tavern.”
Jim Dorn’s nieces, Kim and Jill, attended the launch ceremony on Monday and accepted the dedication.
Personal not political
For Novy, the project was also personal. The artist hails from Wisconsin.
“I moved to Milwaukee at 18 from rural Wisconsin. It was here that I was finally able to live as my true self — as a gay man. Bringing a symbol of LGBTQ+ Pride to this city is an incredible honor. My hope is that it brings queer joy and serves as a visual safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
“When designing the crosswalk, I wanted the colors to carry a deeper message. I chose to create a continuous spectrum — not divided into separate sections — to express that we are one LGBTQ+ community.
“I made sure to include the colors of the Progress Pride Flag, including the black and brown stripes representing marginalized communities of color, and the blue, pink, and white of the transgender flag. Together, these colors celebrate the beautiful diversity and unity within our community.”
For everyone
Novy and Takach are all too aware of what’s happening to rainbow crossings in other states. In July, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy came out against such street art, saying, “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork.”
There is no evidence that rainbow crossings pose any danger. In fact, according to one recent study, quite the opposite.
Takach also disputes such art being political.
“While the rainbows are usually associated with the LGBTQ community, the fact is that the rainbow belongs to everyone,” he told GayCities. “And that’s the central message of our project: everyone’s experience is important, everyone’s story matters, everyone has a right to be seen. Walker’s Point has historically been Milwaukee’s most inclusive and diverse neighborhood: a space where everyone can feel safe, feel accepted, and feel belonging. That is what these rainbows represent — and specifically why the design does not resemble a natural rainbow. We are not separate parts, but all part of the same human continuum.”
“To anyone who sees these rainbows as a ‘divisive’ or ‘political’ symbol, we ask ‘who made them political — and WHY?’ Know your history. Erasing symbols is a step towards erasing culture. Erasing culture is a step towards erasing history. Erasing history is a step towards erasing human beings. Throughout history, there has been no other endgame.”
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