Council has brilliant solution to repeated Pride mural vandalism: ‘Hate is not going to win’

LGBTQ+ people and the wider community have come together in East London to mark the installation of new Pride flags, after previous ones were repeatedly vandalised.

Located at the junction where Woodgrange Rood meets Forest Lane, outside Forest Gate station, the Pride flags, included the Progress Pride flag, had originally been painted on the pavement as a symbol of inclusivity in the local area.

However, not everyone approved of the message of acceptance, and throughout the spring and summer the flags were vandalised numerous times with paint and graffiti, costing Newham Council money to clean and causing distress for the local LGBTQ+ population.

Phrases such as “say no” and “drink toilet water” were scribbled on the flags in March, then they were completely covered over in red paint in June and the word “no”, with a large black X, written on top of them a month later.

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the vandalism as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime and shared images of an individual who had covered their face, using a roller to paint over the flags.

There have been no arrests.

In mid-July people of all ages came together to write over the vandalism with messages of love and acceptance, including “homophobia can do one” and “no hate”, alongside lots of hearts and smiley faces.

Now, rather than repainting the flags where they can be damaged, the local council and Forest Gayte Pride have replaced them with rainbow-coloured wraps on lampposts – placed far out of reach.

At an event to mark their installation, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies gathered at Woodgrange Market where there was singing and speeches from local politicians and activists.

Labour MP Uma Kumaran, who represents Stratford and Bow, told the crowd that the vandalism had been “absolutely awful” but for her “what has been so powerful is that we’ve not let this knock us at all”.

The MP went on to say: “It was painted again and again and again and what we realised is we don’t want to play this game with them, we are defiant. Pride is a protest and their hate is not going to win here.

“Some people might say ‘it’s just a bit of paint on the floor’ but we know it’s more than that: they are trying to erase who you are in your identity and I will never let that happen on my watch.”

As a non-white woman in the public eye, she said she is “not a stranger to hate” but had to turn her social media replies off when she posted about the vandalism because of the “sheer scale of outrage”.

“I don’t know why people are so easily triggered but I thought to myself: ‘I’ve got to protect myself and protect my mental health’. I’m not going to hide away from tweeting about it but I absolutely am not going to let you win either.

“It gave me a slight glimpse into it. Now, imagine being a person of colour who is also LGBT+, or who is from a faith group that doesn’t accept you, and we see how difficult this can be.

“We hope that for the next Forest Gate Pride, [to have] an even bigger protest through here, an even bigger celebration, an even bigger standing together of who we are as a community.”

Also speaking at the event, Newham Council mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said she would never “turn a blind eye to the hate that we have seen in this part of our inclusive borough”.

The community must continue to take an intersectional approach to tackle prejudice head on, she added.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.