Newark Pride is leading the charge for a new crosswalk street mural location for Rainbow Square. This project will amplify awareness of Newark’s growing LGBTQ+ community, honor those who have passed on, and celebrate the progress made so far.
“The Rainbow Square project is a social justice statement,” said Sharronda “Love” Wheeler, President of the Newark Pride Inc. Board. “The decorative crosswalk will be a symbol of local pride and inclusion. This will be a beautiful visual crosswalk for visitors and community members to feel welcome in the neighborhood. The embolization would be very close to the murals we see painted across many cities in this country today and would make a statement of solidarity and inclusion to those gay and straight as a collective movement.”
The rainbow crosswalks first emerged in Taipei, Taiwan in 2008, an idea that came from the National Taiwan Normal University in an effort to campaign for promoting gender equality. Since then, many cities across New Jersey have already painted rainbow walkways in their towns. Currently, there are rainbow crosswalks in cities across the country and around the globe. Cities such as West Hollywood, San Diego, Albuquerque, Maplewood, St. Louis, Seattle, Minneapolis, as well as Tel-Aviv, Sydney, and many others boast rainbow crosswalks.
However, some cities have resisted the rainbow crosswalks. The removal of the crossing inspired a rainbow chalk community protest in Sydney, Australia. Many people have created their own DIY rainbow crossings with chalk, sharing pictures on social media.
