The remaining crosswalks at the corner of Cooper and Young could soon get the same gay-pride-rainbow treatment as the one painted that way in 2019.
A petition to paint one crosswalk (the eastern side) with the design was posted to change.org in May 2019 by Jerred Price, a talk show host, entertainer, and president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association who was running for the Memphis City Council’s District 7 seat at the time. After a series of meetings, the project was approved by the council in September 2019.
Work was completed on the crosswalk — the first such crosswalk in Tennessee — in November. The paint faded on the design and it was repainted in June 2020 with a more-permanent resin material over it to protect it from weather and traffic. The $3,000 project was funded by private donors.
Price announced on Facebook Wednesday that he had completed and submitted the application for the second phase of work for the Memphis Rainbow Crosswalk.
“This will bring the remaining three crosswalks at Cooper and Young to life with new rainbow stripes!” Price said. “The original project called for all four sides. However, we had some trial and error to do. So, to play it safe, we started with the one.”
