WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Someone vandalized a banner outside of city hall in Winston-Salem, according to city officials.
The banner is in celebration of pride month. Someone tore it down and ripped it in two.
Mayor Allen Joines issued the following statement:
“I view this act as an apparent hate crime. I want to state in the strongest terms that the City of Winston-Salem and the City Council fully support Pride Winston-Salem, [their] upcoming events, and Pride Month. The city is acting swiftly to repair the banner in the interim and replace it with a new banner as soon as possible.”
Wanda Allen-Abraha, the city’s director of Human Relations/Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion said they are working to get a replacement banner and released the following statement:
“We want to assure the members of the LGBTQIA+ community that we empathize with and are sensitive to their concerns about such incidents,” Allen-Abraha said. “I have asked Police Chief William Penn to investigate this as a potential hate crime.”
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