Local News
The owner of Roslindale Gourmet Foods Market, Russ & Mimi’s, discovered her business’ Pride flag had been ripped down overnight.
The community in Roslindale, including city officials, came out to show support for a local business owner after her store’s LGBTQ Pride flag was torn down.
Kelly Walsh, owner of gourmet foods market Russ & Mimi’s, realized her business had been targeted when she arrived at the store Oct. 4 and saw that the flag had been knocked off the flagpole. The flag was discovered the next day in a nearby alley, according to The Boston Globe.
The damage to the pole, which was attached to a wall, gave Walsh good reason to believe the act was intentional. Upon closer inspection, the pole’s metal brackets and anchors had been ripped out of the wall, the Globe reported.
“I can’t believe this happened here, this is not the neighborhood where I expect something like this to happen,” Walsh told the Globe.
Community members first reached out on Facebook to show support for Walsh, and the next day, city officials made an in-person visit. Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston City Councilor Enrique Pepén met with Walsh at Russ & Mimi’s during the Roslindale Day Parade to make it clear that they stand by her and the LGBTQ population.
“There’s no place for hate in Roslindale, or anywhere in our city,” Pepén said in an Instagram post. “Acts like this don’t represent who we are.”
Acts of vandalism to Pride flags displayed on homes or businesses have repeatedly occurred in Boston as displays of hostility to the LGBTQ community. Past incidents of Pride flags being burned or torn down have happened in West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale.
“Roslindale is a community built on love, respect, and unity,” Pepén said on Instagram. “We stand with Russ and Mimi, and with our LGBTQ+ neighbors, today and every day.”
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
