DeSantis Picked the Wrong Fight in Miami Beach

Summary

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Bulwark Takes: "DeSantis Picked the Wrong Fight in Miami Beach"

Date: June 21, 2026
Host: Jonathan Cohn, The Bulwark
Guest: Tanya Bott, Miami Beach City Commissioner

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the cultural and political battle over LGBTQ+ representation in Miami Beach, centering on the attempted removal of a beloved rainbow crosswalk landmark by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Jonathan Cohn tells the story of how Miami Beach's leaders, activists, and community members came together to resist DeSantis' efforts, preserve the landmark, and what the victory means for the city’s identity and the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Miami Beach: Cultural Context & Importance (01:00–04:00)

• Jonathan Cohn sets the scene: Miami Beach is a national capital of gay culture, historically significant in LGBTQ+ rights, and renowned for its art deco heritage and diverse community.
• Cohn recounts the origins of the rainbow crosswalk, a tribute to the contributions of the gay community and Miami Beach’s unique, vibrant culture.

How the Landmark Was Saved (01:46–03:14)

• Commissioner Tanya Bott details the city’s response after the crosswalk was ordered removed by DeSantis:
  • The city's unanimous effort to re-install the crosswalk as part of a park, ensuring it could not be removed again (01:46).
  • The rainbow pavers were carefully preserved, repurposed, and re-laid in a design honoring both LGBTQ+ pride and Miami Beach’s art deco legacy.
  • Early action: "The forever proud banners were installed thanks to the guidance of Commissioner Alex Fernandez. Within 48 hours of the crosswalk being torn up." (02:22, Tanya Bott)

History of LGBTQ+ Community in Miami Beach (03:14–05:40)

• Cohn traces the gay community’s roots in Miami Beach, from early tourists in the 1930s, historic anti-discrimination laws, and the city’s resilience amid national and local backlash.
• The transformation of Miami Beach:
  • From a nearly abandoned “God’s waiting room” to a hub for the arts, entertainment, and LGBTQ+ culture.
  • Tanya Bott highlights legacy institutions: “Mangoes... used to be an assisted living facility. That's the transformation.” (04:18)
  • The enduring contribution of venues like The Palace with its iconic drag shows and inclusive atmosphere.

Political Backlash & DeSantis' Actions (05:40–06:41)

• Post-marriage-equality progress meets renewed attacks:
  • DeSantis utilizes technical pretexts to target LGBTQ+ symbols and visibility under the guise of public safety—claims largely dismissed by experts and the community.
  • Cohn: “Nobody bought that rationale... data suggested brightly colored sidewalks actually made areas safer and reduced pedestrian accidents.” (06:23)

The Emotional and Civic Response (06:41–08:02)

• Tanya Bott describes witnessing the crosswalk’s removal:
  • “It was like witnessing carnage, an act of violence… people were distraught.” (06:41)
• She underscores the profound offense at targeting LGBTQ+ memorials, especially sites honoring mass shooting victims:
  • “The crosswalk that seemed to incite the most ire was the one in Orlando, which was literally a memorial to the victims of the Pulse massacre.” (07:08)
• A vision for Miami Beach:
  • “It's so important for us to be a welcoming, open minded, tolerant, creative, inclusive, engaged, uplifting community so that everybody feels safe and welcome, period. Like, full stop.” (07:34)
  • Rejection of bullying from the state and a call for genuine representation:
    • “If you can't represent all of your constituents, then what are you doing?” (07:57)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tanya Bott (on the crosswalk):
  “You can see the scar where the crosswalk was on the street where the pavers were ripped up… It's not a traditional set of rainbow colors...which pays respect to Leonard Horowitz, who is a gay historic preservation activist who helped design the art deco palette.” (01:46–02:58)
• Jonathan Cohn (on context):
  “Miami Beach played a huge role in the gay rights movement of the 1970s. It’s said sometimes that one of the first pride celebrations took place here.” (03:14)
• Tanya Bott (on community):
  “Miami beach will continue to advocate for everybody to be safe and valued and heard and respected. And no amount of bullying from other parts of the state or the country is going to change that.” (07:48)
• On cultural transformation:
  “The arts community discovered how beautiful it is here. The gay community was a huge part of that. They were among the first to come here and put down roots and build businesses.” (04:53)
• On the emotional toll:
  “The night that they tore out the crosswalk, it was like witnessing carnage, an act of violence.” (06:41)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Intro and scene-setting: 01:00–01:46
• Commissioner Bott on restoring the landmark: 01:46–03:14
• History of LGBTQ+ rights in Miami Beach: 03:14–05:40
• Landmark’s symbolic value and removal: 05:40–06:41
• Emotional response and city’s stance: 06:41–08:02

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Closing & Further Reading

• Jonathan Cohn invites listeners to read more about Miami Beach’s LGBTQ+ history and the crosswalk’s survival in The Breakdown newsletter (08:02).

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This episode offers a vivid account of Miami Beach’s defiance against a political campaign seeking to undermine LGBTQ+ visibility, bringing history, local color, and the ongoing fight for a more inclusive community to the forefront.

Transcript

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[C]

Welcome to Miami Beach, a land of sun and sand, glamour and glitz, and also a capital of gay culture in America. Of course, Miami beach is also in Florida where Governor Ron DeSantis has been carrying on his campaign against woke culture. And last year he tried to get rid of one of the city's most beloved landmarks, a tribute to the gay community and everything they have contributed to Miami Beach. Now he did not succeed. A coalition of city officials, activists, business owners, they got together. They saved the landmark. They refused to be bullied. I am Jonathan Cohn from the Bulwark here to tell you the story of how they did it and why saving this tribute was more than a symbolic victory. I talked to people like Tanya Bott, city Commissioner who led the fight to restore the landmark.

[D]

You can see the scar where the crosswalk was on the street where the pavers were ripped up and these pavers that make up this new sidewalk installation where went from being an engineered crosswalk that fit traffic requirements to a full rainbow. It's the same pavers. They were carefully packed up by the people who ripped them out of the street at the behest of our governor. And the idea came to just basically flip the crosswalk onto the park which is our property. Nobody can touch it and was a full city commission effort. Everybody had a hand in it. It was approved unanimously by all of my colleagues. The city staff got it done in time for Miami Beach Pride week in April. The banners that you see in this neighborhood, the forever proud banners were installed thanks to the guidance of Commissioner Alex Fernandez. Within 48 hours of the crosswalk being torn up. And, you know, it's not a traditional set of rainbow colors. It's a little bit more muted, which pays respect to Leonard Horowitz, who is a gay historic preservation activist who helped design the art deco palette. And so this sort of pays homage to that as well. So this crosswalk had so much meaning to us, not just because of the queer community that has been so foundational to Miami beach, making it what it is and how vibrant and inclusive and diverse and fun and creative it is, but also to the Art deco, which, you know, this is the largest naturally occurring collection of art deco buildings anywhere in the world.

[C]

So, you know, the history of the gay community in South Florida goes back to the 1930s and the first tourists. Miami beach played a huge role in. In the gay rights movement of the 1970s. It said sometimes that one of the first pride celebrations took place here in Dade county, in which Miami beach sits, is one of the first communities to pass the anti discrimination law protecting LGBTQ members of the community. And that law also sparked a backlash led by Anita Bryant, famous anti gay activist, laid the groundwork for what became the Moral Majority nationwide. But here in Miami beach, they held the line, in part because of a transformation taking place here, an economic transformation. Miami beach went from being a sleepy town with old, neglected buildings into a vibrant capital of tourism, culture, and international finance.

[D]

If you look at the photographs of Andy's suite, it just captures what happened between when art deco buildings were built and they were the premier hotels in Miami beach to what it was in the Scarface era. Right. Which is unsafe, unkempt. It became called God's waiting room, where sort of the senior citizens started dying off, and there wasn't money for them. And there were assisted living facilities. In fact, one of our great legacy businesses here, Mangoes, is this fantastic, really fun, immersive Miami beach experience where there are dancers and great food, and it's this really quintessential super fun Miami beach experience. It used to be an assisted living facility. That's the transformation. Miami beach was home to the stars, the entertainment world in the 60s, the Deauville Hotel up in North Beach.

[C]

And now from the stage of the Deauville Hotel, here he is.

[D]

Ed Sullivan was the hotel to the stars, it was called, because there were so many amazing arts and musical performers and acts that came in from around the country. But what really started changing Miami beach into what it is now is, was the arts community discovered how beautiful it is here. The gay community was a huge part of that. They were among the first to come here and put down roots and build businesses. I mean, the palace, which is just a couple blocks away, is an anchor on Ocean Drive. It's got arguably the best drag show anywhere in the country. And people from all walks of life, of all ages come in and have a blast. And it's just so welcoming and fun. The queer community is not all at Miami beach, but it's a part of Miami beach. And I think everybody just wants to feel a community.

[C]

Fast forward to the 2000 and tens, sort of the high watermark of gay rights in America. After the Ober Berger fell decision, the first same sex marriages, Miami beach officials decided it was time to pay tribute. And they decided to do it in this iconic intersection, 12th and Ocean Drive, the sort of heart of Miami Beach's gay community. And they laid down this pattern of pavers in the crosswalk. This was also 2018, almost the same day that they dedicated the new memorial was the day that Ron DeSantis became governor of Florida and launched his anti woke crusade, which included targeting pretty much anything with the letters LGBTQ attached to them. It took many forms. And last year he ordered that statewide all expressions of political or cultural messages be removed from the state roads, supposedly for safety considerations. Now, nobody bought that rationale. Actually, there were data suggested that brightly colored sidewalks actually made areas safer and reduced pedestrian accidents.

[D]

The night that they tore out the crosswalk, it was like witnessing carnage, an act of violence. To the credit of the construction crews, they were very respectful. It was almost like coming to a site where you're digging through rubble for bodies. It was quiet and people were distraught. I knew how upsetting this was because it was upsetting to almost everybody in Miami beach for myriad reasons. And the thing that's really offensive to me is that the crosswalk that seemed to incite the most ire was the one in Orlando, which was literally a memorial to the victims of the Pulse massacre. It's not just 49 people. It's all of those people who are affected by their friends and family members getting shot up for having the temerity to go out dancing. We've not always been a tolerant community, and I think that weighs heavily on a lot of us. It's so important for us to be a welcoming, open minded, tolerant, creative, inclusive, engaged, uplifting community so that everybody feels safe and welcome, period. Like, full stop. There's no, there's no caveats to that. Miami beach will continue to advocate for everybody to be safe and valued and heard and respected. And no amount of bullying from other parts of the state or the country is going to change that. Because if you're if you can't represent all of your constituents, then what are you doing?

[C]

You want to read more about how this story, how this project all came together and the history of LGBTQ rights in America and its role in turning Miami beach into what it is today? You can read all about it in the latest edition of the Breakdown newsletter by me, Jonathan Cohn at the Bulwark. I hope you'll check it out. Hope you'll subscribe to the Bulwark. And you know, if you find yourself in South Florida, make sure to check out the Memorial and the rest of South Beach.

[B]

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