We've already seen rainbow crosswalks installed around the world — including in Seattle, Philadelphia, Key West, San Diego, Reykjavik, Toronto, and Sydney — now the capital of Georgia will join that group. Except for one small difference: they won't be temporary as some of the other city's are, and they will actually be ingrained into the asphalt.
Having already raised over half of the $200,000 in private donations, local activist Robert Sepulveda Jr. is the man who got the ball rolling on the project, and, according to Atlanta’s NBC affiliate WXIA, the city’s urban development council officially approved a plan to convert the crosswalks in time for Pride in the city (which was moved to the fall several years ago to resolve calendar conflicts with other major city's celebrations).
The new rainbow crosswalks should be completed in time for Atlanta Pride, Oct. 10-11, when the Southern capital will host approximately 200,000 from all over the world.
The rainbow walkways aim to provide “a feeling of acceptance, a feeling of unity, a feeling of diversity,” Sepulveda says. “Atlanta is a very diverse city. And so when somebody comes to Atlanta for the very first time, and they come to Midtown, they’re gonna feel that you are accepted for who you are.”