ANN ARBOR, MI - If you've walked down Iroquois Place lately, you might have noticed it's a lot more colorful than usual.

Out of the 40 houses along the one-block street off Stadium and Packard, 17 of them are now flying rainbow-colored flags, and four others have traditional red, white and blue American flags.

It's not a coincidence.

Neighbors have united since the Nov. 8 election to show support for equality, diversity and inclusivity, and it all started with an anonymous note left in the mailbox of Mark and Susan Pearlman.

The Pearlmans actually put up their flag -- a spin on the American flag with stars and rainbow-colored stripes -- following the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in June. They have a daughter who is gay, so the attack at the gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people and injured 53 others hit close to home.

Kit Fuller shared this photo collage of the many flags on Iroquois Place.

The rainbow flag was popularized as a symbol of gay pride in the 1970s, and it also is seen as a broader symbol of peace and diversity.

"And then just the day after the election, there it was -- an anonymous letter in my mailbox, basically saying that they were uncomfortable with my flag," Susan Pearlman said of the handwritten note she received a few weeks ago.

"It was just a little disconcerting," she said. "There was something threatening about that. I found myself for two nights, I just kept looking out the window. Like, is someone watching me? There was no address."

The note was written on a card with a floral pattern. The anonymous person who penned it said the rainbow flag "deeply troubled" them.

"I have great pride in being American," the person wrote. "I love our country and am proud of our freedoms. I have great reverence for the men and women who have fought for those freedoms and for our flag itself and all it represents. I was troubled by the rainbow version of the American flag because it overlooks so many things the original American flag represents. The flag is missing the white stripes that represent purity and innocence. The missing red stripes overlook the valor and bravery of our soldiers and the American people.

"Our flag is a sacred representation of our country's history that we are so blessed to be a part of. So, I ask you as your neighbor and fellow American to consider flying two flags, the American flag and the rainbow flag, side by side."

Pearlman said she went and talked with a couple of her neighbors, and their response was, "Where do I get a flag?" And it grew from there as neighbors traded emails about what happened.

Some purchased rainbow flags of their own at the Common Language Bookstore in Kerrytown, and others ordered them online.

Neighbors who've seen the note say it seemed polite, but they're concerned about the anonymous nature of it and apparent unwillingness to openly discuss the issue, as well as the timing with the election, and some question why someone would feel so deeply offended by a symbol of peace and equality.

"It's a bit ironic, because part of that freedom is you can fly whatever flag you want," Pearlman said of the American freedoms mentioned in the note.

Neighbors say they're trying to turn a negative into a positive, and they're feeling good about the abundance of flags on the street now.

"When we saw the note, I went online right away and got this flag," said Michael Sheffield, who has a rainbow flag in his window with a peace symbol and the word peace. "It came four days later, we put it up, and then we walked down the street and it's just speckled with flags, and it makes you feel really good."

The neighbors on Iroquois Place already were a tight-knit bunch, getting together for barbecues at their neighborhood park, communicating as a group via email and offering to help each other rake leaves or de-ice sidewalks. They say the flags just take their solidarity to the next level.

Kit Fuller, who has both a rainbow flag and a maize-and-blue equality flag outside her house, in addition to a peace pole and other signs, said new rainbow flags or other endorsements of diversity are appearing almost daily.

Geraldine Kaylor and her husband, Jeffrey Rausch, who have lived on the block since the late 1970s, are among those flying a rainbow flag now.

"It's always been a really great neighborhood," Kaylor said. "And it's always been a neighborhood that's really inclusive, but not intrusive, and people have always just stuck together. So when this issue came up ... we just thought it was up to all of us to kind of band together, and it was pretty spontaneous."

They still don't know if the person who wrote the note even lives on the block or had any bad intentions, Kaylor said.

"But in any event, we just thought that they really weren't thinking about what the priorities of freedom are about," she said.

Gina Brandolino and Ellen Muehlberger are among the Iroquois Place residents flying a rainbow flag now.

"As far as I know, we're the only gay homeowners on the street," Brandolino said. "So at the point when 10 flags were up, it seemed like the gay couple should probably have a flag."

Brandolino said it's been heartwarming to see so many of their neighbors standing up for equality.

She said she and her partner spent a long time looking for houses in Ann Arbor before buying a place on Iroquois Place a few years ago.

"It's so hard to buy a house in Ann Arbor, and it took us two years of looking, and it made me think it was worth the wait to end up on this street."

Brandolino said there are still signs of discontent. She said people on the block with Hillary Clinton signs have had signs vandalized multiple times.

Pearlman said she has lived in her house on Iroquois Place since 1990, and she grew up in Ann Arbor. If one of her neighbors has a concern with her rainbow flag, she said, she hopes they come to her to talk about it.

She said it's an inclusive and diverse neighborhood, and an anonymous note is an unusual way to handle things.

Pearlman notes she flew an American flag 24/7 with a light on it following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"I have an understanding of the flag and freedom, and part of that freedom is being able to fly whatever flag I feel like flying," she said.

Pearlman said she's unsure if any of the traditional American flags that have popped up along the street this month are in any way meant to counter the rainbow flags or if they're just joining along in putting their flags out. She suspects some went up for Veterans Day and just stayed up.

None of the residents at houses with traditional American flags answered their doors on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

As for the proliferation of rainbow flags along Iroquois Place, Pearlman said, "My husband and I, and my daughter and other children who all grew up in this house, have been overwhelmed with the support."

Residents in other parts of Ann Arbor, including Mayor Christopher Taylor, also have put up rainbow flags since the election.

"I think it's a support across Ann Arbor to say we value diversity and we're OK with it, and it's important," Pearlman said.