The Terminal Tower is Ohio’s First Building to Light for Spirit Day
GLAAD is celebrating Spirit Day for the first time in the downtown Cleveland skyline, lighting up The Terminal Tower in purple to shine a light on Ohio’s LGBTQ youth, and support them against bullying and harassment.
The iconic Terminal Tower and its lights are a staple of downtown Cleveland, with hundreds of lightings each year to honor civic pride, local celebrations, charities, awareness campaigns, and significant national and international events. Lighting infrastructure by Vincent Lighting lit The Terminal Tower in purple for Spirit Day, a spotlight in the skyline and across social media, alternating with the colors of the hometown Cleveland Guardians in its championship playoff series with the New York Yankees.
The Terminal Tower joins One World Trade and the NASDAQ in New York, Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, and the skyline of Kansas City, Missouri including City Hall, the historic Kansas City Power and Light Building, and Kansas City’s Union Station, as civic landmarks lit in purple for Spirit Day nationwide.
“We know the vast majority of people in Cleveland and Ohio overall support the safety and equality of LGBTQ youth,” said GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis. “We are thrilled to see the beautiful Terminal Tower lit in purple as a beacon of hope and solidarity to all LGBTQ people across Northeast Ohio, and to make a strong stand against bullying that far too many of our youth endure.”
Ohio’s LGBTQ youth and allies are among those in 23 other states who have been subjected to baseless legislative attacks against their essential, mainstream health care and access to sports. According to The Buckeye Flame, the Ohio’s current legislative session “has included a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a ban on trans female athletes in kindergarten through college and proposed bills to restrict bathroom access, ban drag in public and force school personnel to out LGBTQ+ youth to their families.”
The Buckeye Flame also reports that the Ohio Supreme Court will likely hear the challenge to HB68, a combination bill that bans both health care for transgender youth and sports for transgender girls and women. The bill’s fate may ultimately rest with voters.
The Court’s current political alignment could shift with three of seven seats up for election right now. Future legislation may also depend on Issue 1 passing in Ohio, one of the most highly-watched LGBTQ-related ballot measures this year. If passed, Issue 1 would outlaw gerrymandering, the manipulation of voting districts that led to an extremist takeover of the Ohio state legislature.
Equality Ohio explained the measure to its followers on TikTok and Instagram: “Gerrymandering leads to extreme legislation—it hurts LGBTQ+ Ohioans, period.”
Research shows such debates about restricting the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ youth have devastating consequences. A study by The Trevor Project found that suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary young people increased significantly in states that adopted anti-transgender laws between 2018 and 2022. Ohio was among 33 states included in the Trevor Project study.
GLAAD’s ALERT Desk has also documented at least seven recent anti-LGBTQ incidents specifically targeting students and educators in Ohio alone. This includes the arrest of a person in May 2023 who threatened to shoot LGBTQ students after a gender-fluid couple in Kettering, OH won prom king & queen.
The first-ever Cleveland landmark lighting for Spirit Day is a visual message for all LGBTQ youth, adults and allies across Ohio: “LGBTQ people are here to stay, our spirit is unstoppable, and we are overjoyed to see this profound representation in the Great Lakes and greater Midwest,” GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis said.