A small town's 'Pride Wall' was vandalized and taken down. They built it back even better
| 12/31/24
trudestress
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Pride Across the Bridge in Duvall, Wash., near Seattle, is proud of its Pride Wall, a public art installation that began in 2022 with rainbow ribbons woven around the fence at the Duvall Valley Mall by local artist Axton Burton, who is executive director of the nonprofit group that supports LGBTQ+ people in the area.
In 2023, local residents refreshed the wall, but things got murky that summer. Apparently, the fence belonged to the city. It wasn't private property like Burton and others thought. Because of that, several locals decided to try to get the wall removed, according to Pride Across the Bridge's website. Some community members threw American flags over the fence and, eventually, a Pine Tree flag associated with white Christian nationalism appeared as well. This resulted in the city removing all banners and materials from all city fences.
"The Pride Wall art installation was removed by a City of Duvall employee along with the police on July 21st before dawn, the day of the valley’s largest local art festivals – Sandblast and Brodie Nation," the nonprofit wrote on its website.
The city's cultural commission proposed a new art installation made up of materials from the one taken down. The city council approved the proposal in a 7-to-1 vote. A wall of city hall became the chosen location for the new piece.
"Valley locals worked together to install the new pride public art piece on May 7th. After 11 months of work from the community, local advocates, and incredible city leaders, the new pride wall art installation stands as a beacon today, not only as the reminder of the history of ignorance and hatred Duvall has held, but as the importance of community voices, inclusion, and the continued education and discussions still needing to happen in our valley community. The May 11th ribbon cutting for How Far We’ve Come was the opener to the City of Duvall’s first city created Pride event," the nonprofit wrote.
Check out the images of the new installation below followed by previous iterations of the fenced Pride Wall that had to be removed.
Duvall City Hall
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Duvall Valley Mail
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Duvall Valley Mail
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Duvall Valley Mail
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Spark Pizza
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Woodblock
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Woodblock
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Woodblock
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
Woodblock
Courtesy Pride Across the Bridge
