Anti-LGBTQ graffiti inspired these Londoners to fight chalk with chalk

Members of London’s LGBTQ community have started an initiative to fight back against anti-LGBTQ graffiti that’s appeared on multiple city properties in recent months. They’re encouraging people to fill sidewalks with tolerant, positive messages, written in chalk, as part of a new movement they call Chalk the Walk. “We’re hoping to enter this summer, and Pride month, with a renewed sense of community. To find a way to take back these negative actions and turn them into supportive ones,” said Perri Prince, a transgender Londoner. In recent months, Prince and others have reported a rash of anti-LGBTQ messages written on bridges, sidewalks, and other city property in chalk. The London Public Library reported hateful messages appearing outside two of its branches in March. Chalk art like this is what Prince and Brocksom encourage Londoners to produce. (Perri Prince) London police said on Tuesday that investigations into the graffiti are ongoing. The London Police Service also published a report in the same week showing the LGBTQ community is the primary target for hate crimes in the city, especially during Pride month, accounting for more than a quarter of all reported hate crimes in the city in 2023.  Prince said they witnessed...