Boynton Beach To Install Progress Pride LGBTQ Intersection

 May 6, 2021

(Boynton Beach, Florida) At this week's meeting, Boynton Beach City Commissioners selected the LGBTQ Progress Pride Flag as the design for the city's new public art installation to be located at the intersection East Ocean Avenue and 1st Street SE at the end of the city's Town Square.

The Progress Pride Flag adds a five-colored chevron to the classic six-colored classic Rainbow Pride Flag .The chevron emphasizes inclusion and progression, as the additional colors -- black, brown, light blue, pink, and white -- represent people of color, trans and non-binary individuals, and those living with HIV/AIDS.

At the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC), Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Ty Penserga began working with city staff last fall on bringing LGBTQ public art to the city in a significant way.

PBCHRC is Florida's oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.  Penserga worked with city's public art program staff to identify possible locations and develop designs for crosswalks and streetscapes incorporating the colors of the Progress Pride Flag, City Commissioners approved the location on April 20 and the Progress Pride Flag design on May 4.

"By highlighting the LGBTQ streetscape at the entrance to Town Square and downtown Boynton Beach, city officials are proudly letting LGBTQ people know that we recognize you, we stand with you, and we are all part of the fabric that strengthens Boynton Beach," said Penserga, who is Boynton Beach's first openly gay elected official, "We are sending a clear the message -- especially to our younger LGBTQ residents -- that everyone is welcome in Boynton Beach and that our community supports you."

"We thank Vice Mayor Penserga, the Boynton Beach City Commission, and city staff for creating his magnificent tribute to the city's LGBTQ community." said PBCHRC President and Founder Rand Hoch. "Over the past thirty years, the LGBTQ community in Boynton Beach has gone from being nearly invisible, to being tolerated, to being acknowledged, to being granted equal rights and benefits, to having our families recognized, and now, to having the diversity of the LGBTQ community publically celebrated," said Hoch. "That is quite an achievement."

Road work to prepare for the installation is now is underway. It is expected that paint will be applied by mid-June, in time for LGBTQ Pride Month. The city plans to dedicate the LGBTQ Progress Pride Intersection in June..