FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Bridges from Jacksonville to Miami will glow in red, white and blue this summer — and only red, white and blue.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is ordering the state’s bridges solely be illuminated in the colors of the American flag from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The announcement effectively bans the use of any other color scheme over the course of the summer, such as rainbow colors for Pride Month, which is celebrated in June.
FDOT’s initiative came a month after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announced “Freedom Summer,” which includes making state parks free for Memorial Day weekend and instituting a sales tax holiday for recreational items in July.
Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue announced on X that the bridges’ required color scheme would coincide with “Freedom Summer.”
In his post, he also thanked the governor for positioning Florida as the “freest state in the nation.”
“There appears to be a contradiction,” says Todd Delmay, executive director of SAVE. He and other members of the LGBTQ+ community view the bridge lighting initiative as a deliberate maneuver to suppress large, visual displays of rainbow colors on bridges during Pride Month.
The rainbow flag holds significance as a symbol of the diverse LGBTQ+ community.
Delmay pointed to past legislation regarding LGBT topics on the classroom, and an incident in 2021 which Pride Month lights were turned off at the Acosta Bridge in Jacksonville. A spokesperson for the governor told WJXT that the governor’s office had nothing to do with the decision to cancel the rainbow light display.
But Delmay is not convinced.
“Clearly, there’s a very petty motive here to take away these very obvious symbols of an LGBTQ community that’s been under attack,” he said.
Maxx Fenning, executive director of Prism, said “Absolutely it’s intentional, right? It also follows in a succession of attempts to restrict symbols surrounding the queer community.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) sent a statement which said:
“FDOT made the decision to light state-owned bridges, red, white, and blue from Memorial Day to Labor Day to celebrate America. FDOT supports the Governor’s vision to encourage Floridians to enjoy the activities and attractions that Florida has to offer while celebrating the liberties and freedoms that so many fought for us to have. In that spirit, we are happy to honor our country with this lighting display.”
“It’s one of the least free things,” said Delmay. “To be able to say, ‘You can put up colors, but only certain colors.’”
FDOT’s lighting rules do not affect private individuals or business from lighting structures in whatever color scheme they see fit.
The governor’s use of the term “Freedom Summer” has also been criticized since it was traditionally used to describe a 1964 African-American voter registration drive in Mississippi, and was considered a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement.
DeSantis has used the term for his summer tax holiday for the last few years. Emails to his press office were not returned.