A rainbow crosswalk located at the intersection of 14th St and Woodland St in East Nashville originally painted in 2024 was updated with a fresh coat of paint on Saturday ahead of next weekend’s Nashville Pride Fest and Parade set to take place downtown.
The newly-repainted crosswalk was initially approved in 2024 after a collaboration between the Metro Nashville LGBTQ Caucus, the Nashville Department of Transportation, Metro Nashville Councilmember Clay Capp, and Nashville Pride.
Three days after it was first painted by a group of volunteers, the crosswalk was defaced with black paint.
Surveillance footage released at the time showed what police eventually announced was a 24-year old man in a white Ford transit van driving over the crosswalk while dumping black paint out of his driver’s side window onto the pavement.
The crosswalk went on to be repainted after the incident.
On Saturday, Nashville Pride board members joined the Metro Council LGBTQ Caucus, The Lipstick Lounge, and community members to repaint the crosswalk ahead of next week’s Pride Fest at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and Pride Parade down Broadway.
The paint used for the crosswalk was donated by Sherwin-Williams, according to Metro Nashville Councilmember Olivia Hill, a biological male who identifies as transgender female, who was among those who assisted in repainting the crosswalk.
In a social media post about the repainted crosswalk, Hill wrote, “A crosswalk may seem like a small thing. But sometimes the smallest reminders can send the biggest message: You belong here. You are seen. You are welcome. And Nashville is better because you’re part of it.”
The Nashville Pride Fest and Parade will take place on Saturday, June 27. According to Nashville Pride’s website, the one-day event will feature a downtown parade, live entertainment across multiple stages, drag performances, DJs, food vendors, community organizations, a vendor marketplace, “kids and family” activities, a “youth zone,” and more.
The festival will be held at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park following the parade, which begins at 10 a.m. on Broadway.
Among the sponsors of this year’s event include AllianceBernstein, Amazon, Bridgestone, Journey’s, Kroger, the Nashville Predators, Red Bull, the Tennessee Titans, Tanger, U.S. Bank, local television station WSMV, Nashville Scene, Planned Parenthood, Virgin Hotels, Rocket Mortgage & Redfin, and Starbucks.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Rainbow Crosswalk” by Nashville Pride.
