ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — An equality group in Estill County has paid for a billboard telling passing drivers that they matter.
"Estill Countians for Equality" had the billboard put up Tuesday along KY-52 at the Estill-Madison county line. The sign reads: "No Hate in Our Hollers. You Matter."
"You matter. That's the big words that we wanted to stand out. You matter and you're welcome here," said group member Neysa Cordial.
Cordial said the group came together during the racial justice movement of 2020.
"We've actually had a lot of people that have moved away because they didn't feel safe growing up in our community and they're reaching out and they're like, 'I needed something like this when I was growing up in Estill County,'" Cordial said.
In early April, the uproar surrounding a teacher who displayed a classroom message of support to his LGBTQ students spurred them to put up the billboard.
"When you log on to social media, there's a lot of loud voices sometimes that can make you not feel welcome or doubt yourself, but seeing that is kind of like a beacon of hope to say, 'Find us! We're here!', she said.
Cordial said the group has raised enough money to keep the billboard up for six months.
