Wells Fargo lights up North Carolina HQ with trans pride flag and giant pink triangle
Wells Fargo lit up its North Carolina HQ in protest at the state’s anti-LGBT law, and to mark the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Last month the North Carolina Republicans passed a law which voids all local ordinances protecting LGBT rights, and permits businesses to discriminate against LGBT people on the grounds of religious belief.
The new law, signed into law by Republican Governor Pat McCrory, also bans transgender students in public schools from using their preferred bathroom.
McCrory’s decision has attracted a legal challenge as well as a growing boycott of the state – with New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and New York State all cutting formal ties with the state in protest, through a travel ban.
Hundreds of companies have also voiced their opposition to the new law – but finance giant Wells Fargo found a unique way to send a message of solidarity with LGBT people.
The company lit up its HQ, the 48-storey Duke Energy Center tower, in the colours of the transgender flag for the International Day of Transgender Visibility last week.
The pink, white, and blue lighting was topped off with a giant pink triangle, which could be seen for miles across Charlotte,
The company wrote: “Lit pink, blue and white for International Transgender Day of Visibility #tdov”
The pink triangle is a universal symbol for LGBT rights and has a long history – most notably being deployed during the Holocaust to persecute gay men.
The head of a Christian charity last year launched a boycott of Wells Fargo because the bank featured a same-sex couple in an ad.
Watch the ad below: