In time for this weekend’s Tulsa Pride Festival, Fourth Street from Elgin Avenue to Lansing Avenue has a new name.
Oklahomans for Equality Program Director Jose Vega worked with the City of Tulsa and Tulsa's Young Professionals to get the Pride Street designation recognizing the LGBTQ community. Vega said it’s a sign of progress for a community where "I thought I’d never see the day" is a common phrase.
"Tulsa has housing protection for the LGBTQ community, and right now, I know that they’re in works to work on hate crime and to work on public accommodation and employment in city limits. So, that’s a step forward," Vega said.
A 2017 bill by state Sen. Josh Brecheen attempted to undo those housing protections and prohibit other local LGBTQ protections, but it was voted down on the floor and not revived for the 2018 session.
Vega said the city told him his initial proposal, a rainbow crosswalk in front of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, ran afoul of street marking standards.
"Three days later, I came back and I said, 'What about Pride Street? What about naming it?' Kind of like how Cherry Street has," Vega said. "From one point to another point, it’s Cherry Street, and beyond that, it’s 15th Street. And that would be awesome to have that as Pride Street in front of the center and highlight the LGBT community."
With a street sign unveiled Friday morning, Vega said the next step is getting Google to add Pride Street to its maps.
"And hopefully, it will be known and recognized statewide, nationwide, and people will say, 'Oh, what’s in front of Pride Street?' Well, the seventh-largest LGBT center in the world," Vega said.
The Dennis R. Neill Equality Center has been at Fourth Street and Kenosha Avenue since 2005 and served more than 60,000 people last year.
The Tulsa Pride Festival begins today at 5 p.m. Events continue Saturday and Sunday.
