JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The city of Jacksonville is caught in a dispute over rainbow crosswalks and LGBTQ+ public art following an order by the Florida Department of Transportation requiring the removal of such artwork or risking loss of state funding.

In response, local advocates have launched a fundraising campaign, ‘Will Not Be Erased,’ to create permanent murals, sidewalk art and parking lot installations celebrating Jacksonville’s LGBTQ+ community.

David Vandygriff, CEO of the Jacksonville LGBT Chamber of Commerce said the goal is to ensure that community members feel visible and loved.

“What we want to do is make sure that we have a visible way that people can see that the community loves them just as they are,” Vandygriff said.

The first murals are planned for Lomax Street in the Five Points neighborhood, InCahoots in Brooklyn and Hardwicks downtown.

Community members echoed the importance of these symbols.

“Something as pure as a rainbow shouldn’t be taken anywhere inappropriate,” Martin Dixon said. “It’s a sign of freedom.”

“It’s something that shows diversity, especially in a neighborhood like Riverside, where I’ve lived and worked a long time,” business owner Stephanie Wright, added. “We’re so accepting of every race, nationality, like sexual orientation.”

The debate intensified after Gov. Ron DeSantis cited safety concerns in ordering the removal of rainbow crosswalks and related artwork across Florida.

Jacksonville city officials dispute the claim, referencing a 2022 Bloomberg study that found colorful crosswalks reduce pedestrian accidents by 50 percent.

“That is contradicting what DeSantis says that it’s for a safety reason,” Vandygriff said.

DeSantis still defending the move.

“I understand there may be people that disagree with it,” he said. “I enforce laws that I may not fully agree with, but I took an oath to do it. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. There was a change in law.”

Vandygriff said the LGBTQ+ community remains resilient.

“The LGBTQ community is probably one of the most diverse minority groups in the country or in the world, and we’ve been here since the beginning of time and we’ll be here to the end of time, and we always learn how to keep fighting and reinvent how we do things,” he added.

Campaign organizers are raising funds to bring vibrant murals and installations to more than a dozen local businesses across Jacksonville in the coming months.