A Community For All: Maryland’s First Rainbow Crosswalk Gets Two Colorful Additions

Walking through downtown Salisbury, Maryland it’s hard not to marvel at the bold and colorful intersection painted on the street. In 2018, Salisbury made history by painting the first rainbow crosswalk in the state of Maryland. This past weekend, a new coat of paint, plus two new additions were added to the colorful intersection. In celebration of Pride, the event was organized by Salisbury’s Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) organization and included vendors, drag performances and a drag queen story time for kids. PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies.

With over 120 community members working together, the event saw double the number of attendees since its last crosswalk refresh in 2019. Piedmont’s Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) was proud to contribute to that number and volunteer as part of the Do Crew program. The Piedmont team enjoyed painting alongside friends and family, and handing out Piedmont Pride themed swag. Among those in attendance was Piedmont’s Vice President of People and Communications, Jacqueline Jennings. “Giving back to our community has always been a part of Piedmont’s culture of caring,” said Jennings. “I am proud of all of our Employee Resource Groups for their unwavering commitment to inclusion that is not only good for our business, but critical for supporting the communities where we live and serve.”

This year, Salisbury made history again by incorporating the progress pride flag and the transgender pride flag into the design. After adding a fresh coat of paint to the original Pride flag crosswalk, Piedmont participants were thrilled to prime and tape off the two new additions. Featuring a five-colored chevron added onto the classic pride flag, the progress pride flag includes both black and brown stripes to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color, as well as the colors pink, light blue and white, which are used on the transgender pride flag. “I think the city of Salisbury keeps changing, keeps becoming more progressive, more open minded, and more inclusive,” said Salisbury PFLAG Board President Nicole Hollywood.

As symbols of inclusion and progression, the additions of both flags to the downtown crosswalks mean more than just making history, but moving toward safer, more inclusive communities across the Eastern Shore of Maryland and beyond. To learn more about Salisbury PFLAG or other PFLAG chapters in your area, click here.

Thank you to all of the Piedmont team members who volunteered their time at this event. “As we close out Pride month, I am so thankful to be a part of an organization that values LGBTQ+ representation, allyship and overall inclusion,” said Pride ERG President, Chessa Beebe. “It feels good to finally get back out into the community and volunteer.”

Learn more about Piedmont’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion here. Piedmont team members, to get involved or learn more about our Pride ERG, click here.