Community members and organizations in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles celebrated on Monday after the removal of “No U-Turn” and “No Cruising” signs, which were allegedly put up in the 1990s to prevent the gay community from meeting up.
The signs, which had allegedly been used to target the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the area, were removed in a ceremony attended by members of the community, local LGBTQIA2S+ organizations, and city leaders, who marked the occasion as a significant step.
BREAKING: LA City Council members have removed “No U-Turn” traffic signs in a gay neighborhood.
They say the signs were homophobic.
No, this is not satire. pic.twitter.com/yadflyo588 [1]
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 14, 2024 [2]
Allegedly originally installed in response to neighbors’ complaints about a gay bar in the Silver Lake neighborhood, these “No U-Turn” and “No Cruising” signs were allegedly symbols of the intolerance that many in the LGBTQIA2S+ community have fought against, as they served to prevent people from the gay community from meeting up with other members of the same community.
Maebe A. Girl, a Silver Lake Neighborhood Councilmember, emphasized the importance of removing the signs, saying, “When you learn the history of it, and you realize that these were used to profile gay people, it’s so important that we have these removed.”
The removal of the signs was seen as a long-awaited victory for LGBTQIA2S+ activists in the neighborhood. The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council had already voted to dismantle the signs back in 2011, and the community’s persistence has finally paid off.