The Diocese of Spokane in Washington donated $7,500 to Spokane Pride in response to the city’s downtown Pride crosswalk mural being vandalized on May 16, 2024. Photo: Spokane Pride/Facebook
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Spokane in Washington donated $7,500 to Spokane Pride in response to the city’s downtown Pride crosswalk mural being vandalized last week.
“Love always wins. Hate will resist it, but as in every generation we must be vigilant and we must work today,” Spokane Bishop Gretchen Rehberg told KHQ, Spokane’s NBC affiliate station. “We can get tired on our own, but together we can stand united. Together we can make sure that love will always win and that love is always seen as love.”
The diocese’s donation matches all donations to repaint the mural, totaling $15,000. Spokane Pride, a local nonprofit that hosts the city’s annual pride parade and festival, announced May 22 on Facebook that it’s raised enough money to fully fund repainting the mural.
Video surveillance shows that the mural, a Pride flag painting on a crosswalk, was doused in a flammable liquid before being set on fire in the early morning of May 16. The footage hasn’t been released to the public.
Pride Spokane hasn’t announced if the mural will be repainted in time for the Pride parade and festival, which is scheduled for June 8.
On June 6, SB 5917, a new statewide law designating the defacement of public property targeting people because of their sexuality, gender or race a hate crime will go into effect. Hate crimes on public property will be made a felony. The bipartisan bill was proposed in response to previous Pride crosswalk murals in Spokane being vandalized last year. Spokane has multiple Pride crosswalk murals painted across the city.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.