Texas Town Strips Arts Walk Funding Over Drag Show

The Texas Tribune reports:

The Lubbock City Council on Tuesday voted to strip funding from a popular free monthly arts walk, after a council member suggested the event promoted a drag show. The 5-2 vote strips the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts of $30,000 of tax dollars collected from hotel stays.

David Glasheen, the council member who proposed the cut, suggested the money was used to promote drag shows and LGBTQ+ programs marketed as family-friendly.

The center said it was not consulted about the funding request or asked about the LGBTQ+ programming by the City Council beforehand. “The programming in question was not held on LHUCA property, but rather at a separate entity in control of their own creative programming,” the statement said.

Read the full article. Glasheen, who made a failed bid for the Texas House in 2022, ran unopposed for the Lubbock City Council.

TONIGHT AT 10: The Lubbock City Council voted 5-2 to cut $30,000 in Civic Lubbock, Inc. Cultural Arts Grants funding for First Friday Art Trail hosted in Downtown Lubbock. https://t.co/bbCIThUcCU

— KCBD NewsChannel11 (@KCBD11) July 24, 2024