Video above: Tampa raises LGBTQ Pride flag for Pride Month
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida’s decision to not display rainbow colors on the state’s bridges during Pride Month has left residents taking matters into their own hands to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
As night fell on June 1, dozens of Jacksonville locals walked from Friendship Park with rainbow-colored flashlights in hand, to the pedestrian walkway of the Main Street bridge. Once on the bridge, residents turned on their flashlights, illuminating the overpass above the St. Johns River with a mirage of rainbow colors.
Jimmy Midyette took a picture of the glowing bridge, telling WFLA that residents displayed the lights from 9:20 to 9:40 p.m. to kick off the start of Pride Month before returning to the park.
Travis Akers, a Jacksonville resident, shared Midyette’s photo on X, stating he loves how his city and residents came together to display the rainbow colors on the bridge despite recent controversy.
“I love my city! In response to Gov. Ron DeSantis banning Pride lights being displayed on bridges in Florida this year, dozens of local residents used different color flashlights to project a rainbow on the Main Street Bridge in downtown Jacksonville,” Akers wrote.
In the past, many of Florida’s bridges showcased rainbow colors in June to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month; however, the Florida Department of Transportation announced that all of the state’s bridges will only display red, white, and blue from Memorial to Labor Day as part of Florida’s “Freedom Summer,” putting an end to the light show.
“As Floridians prepare for Freedom Summer, Florida’s bridges will follow suit, illuminating in red, white, and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day! Thanks to the leadership of @GovRonDeSantis, Florida continues to be the freest state in the nation,” FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue wrote on social media.
Florida’s “Freedom Summer” means no bridges in the state can show rainbow colors for Pride. It also means that the patriotic colors will overtake other days such as Juneteenth and Mental Health Awareness Day.
The change also means that Tampa Bay’s iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge will not light up for Pride Month for the first time in three years. The bridge, which spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County to Manatee County, previously lit up in vibrant colors for one week in June.
The disappointment of not lighting the bridge comes nearly a year after organizers for Tampa Pride on the River canceled one of the region’s largest Pride celebrations after DeSantis signed an “anti-drag” bill — an expansion of the Parental Rights in Education Act — what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” Law.
Despite the cancellation, organizers of the event said Pride on the River would return in September 2024.
