Fort Lauderdale city leaders will host an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss how to respond to the state's order to remove rainbow-colored crosswalks and other street art throughout Florida or risk losing millions of dollars in funding.

The Department of Transportation under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered communities to remove the crosswalks and other street art by early next month. Most of the painted crossings celebrate marginalized groups, such as the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.

Critics say it's the latest attack on the LGBTQ+ community by the DeSantis administration and Republican-controlled Legislature, including restrictions on gender-affirming care and Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay law, which banned classroom discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades.

“It is just one more attempt to wipe away our existence as if we don’t even belong here,” said Robert Boo, the CEO of Pride Center Florida in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Wilton Manors.

Jason Osborne, a Fort Lauderdale local who visited the Sebastian Street mural with his boyfriend on Wednesday, said the state's mandate is meant to intimidate people and make them afraid.

But he predicted that it will have the opposite effect, and that for every one step backward, "we’re going to take five steps forward. Because now we are going to paint buildings. You’re gonna see people that are going to do more because people love each other.”