Pineville business leader ‘frustrated’ by town council silence on Pride flags request
Pineville business leader Sara Longstreet hoped her town would finally display rainbow flags on its Main Street light poles this month to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.
She ended up “frustrated” and “disappointed” by the town council’s silence on her nearly two-month-old request, she told The Charlotte Observer. The flags would have recognized June as Pride month.
The town places American flags on the poles during 4th of July and other celebrations, she said, so why not Pride flags in June?
“Radio silence,” she said of the four-member town council’s response.
Small gesture, big impact
Longstreet made the request in a May 3 email to the council, Town Manager Ryan Spitzer and Mayor David Phillips, who votes in cases of a tie vote by the council.
The owner of Carolina Scoops Ice Cream Shop in downtown Pineville said she volunteers as the liaison between downtown merchants and town officials.
“An easy way for us to show support and inclusivity in Pineville would be to line Main Street with rainbow pride flags for the month of June (just like we do during the holidays with American flags),” Longstreet said in her May 3 email.
“This small gesture of acknowledgment, recognition and support will make a big impact in our community,” she wrote.
Why mayor opposes request
Longstreet shared with The Observer a May 28 email the mayor sent to her in reply, saying he received no response from council members about whether they were willing to vote on her request.
Then, in a separate email Phillips forwarded to Longstreet, the mayor expressed opposition to the flag display, saying it would “open the door” to others requesting other types of flags throughout the year.
Merchants “have the right and opportunity to recognize Pride Month in ways of their choosing,” just not on their building exteriors, “in efforts to respect everyone’s feelings,” Phillips wrote in the email.
Longstreet also made her request during the June 11 council meeting. She decided, as well, to ask the town during her presentation to hold an annual family friendly Pride festival downtown. Longstreet highlighted communities across the region, state and nation that already do so.
The town didn’t list her presentation on the agenda as an action item, “so there was no vote” on her flags request, she said. Her request appeared as the “Sara Longstreet presentation,” under new business, according to Pineville meeting documents.
“The room was uncomfortably silent,” she said. “No questions, no comments. Just an older woman standing up behind me in protest with her arms folded, and then some hateful comments written about my efforts on social media as word got out to residents.
Longstreet also presented the council with more than 80 letters of support from other residents.
She still hasn’t heard any formal word back from them, she said Friday.
The Observer emailed and left phone messages on Friday morning for Phillips and council members Chris McDonough, Ed Samaha, Amelia Stinson-Wesley and Danielle Moore seeking comment.
As of Saturday evening, none had replied to the request.
”I’m not going anywhere”
Pineville is no longer “a small conservative farm town,” Longstreet said. “We are a diverse suburb of a major metropolitan city and have a young LGBTQIA+ community that needs to be acknowledged, supported and celebrated.”
She said she’ll continue to promote efforts celebrating Pride month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Juneteenth Day and the town’s Indian population.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “I lead with love and positivity, and feel it comes back full circle in the end.”
