Artists, Activists Respond To Removal Of Street Murals By FDOT Crews

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The arts community is reeling in the aftermath of the removal of street murals in St. Petersburg and across the state, including, notably, the “Black History Matters” mural by the Woodson Museum and the Grand Central District’s and the LGBTQ+ Progressive Pride crosswalk.

Florida Department of Transportation crews removed the murals after state officials said the street art was a safety issue. But, studies have found the murals tend to improve traffic safety.

Authorities also said the street art is inconsistent with state law and the FDOT Design Manual.

In a June 30 internal memo, Will Watts, FDOT’s chief operating officer and assistant secretary, called for municipalities to remove “non-compliant traffic control devices and surface markings, including pavement art installations.”

This includes “pavement surface art that is associated with social, political, or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control.”

With five murals removed in St. Pete starting the evening of Aug. 29 through the early morning hours of Sept. 2, activists and artists have stepped up in support of the works.

“The state said they felt it (pavement art) was a distraction. Well, your feeling doesn’t count; science shows otherwise,” Brian Longstreth, an organizer who supports saving the city’s street murals, told Patch. “There are actually less accidents. Let’s deal with science and let us be St. Pete.”

Supporters of the street murals believe state leaders are actually targeting cities, including St. Petersburg, with diverse communities.

Artist John Gascot, who worked on the original Black Lives Matter mural and the Black History Matters mural that replaced it, said the art mirrors St. Petersburg’s diverse, “underrepresented and underserved” communities.

“They’re a reflection of the community and as a community that has historically had to fight to be heard and seen, there’s an importance to that,” he told Patch.

Two religious leaders — the Rev. Andy Oliver, 45, the pastor at Allendale United Methodist Church, and Ben Atherton-Zeman, 59, a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg — were both arrested Aug. 29 for praying in the street to block FDOT crews trying to remove the “Black History Matters” mural. They were charged with pedestrian obstructing or hindering traffic and obstruction.

Days after the Woodson mural was removed and painted over by FDOT workers, an unknown person or several people came through the area overnight Wednesday and painted over the old mural's letters.

An officer patrolling the area spotted the repainted mural on Wednesday around 11:30 a.m., though investigators don’t know exactly when it was repainted or who did it, St. Pete police told Patch.

Police alerted FDOT crews about the mural. The workers returned to paint over it again by Thursday morning.

The Woodson will reimagine the mural on Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., as part of its Museum Day programming.

Participants are asked to wear yellow, red, or green tops and black bottoms to recreate and spell out “Black History Matters” in front of the museum, according to a Facebook post.

“Even though our mural has been defaced, ‘Black History Matters’ is a message that can never be erased,” the museum wrote.

There were also multiple chalk art protests throughout the community, including one on Labor Day morning in the Grand Central District. More than 100 volunteers took to Central Avenue between 23rd and 25th streets, near where the Progressive Pride crosswalk was located, to write messages of hope and support on the sidewalks.

The crosswalk was removed by FDOT crews early Tuesday morning.

“They came as soon as the bars closed” and the work was completed by about 4:40 a.m., activist and performer Lilith Black told Patch.

They added, “It's a shame that those in power are so unwilling or incapable of solving actual issues they have to waste money fighting culture wars. Our roads are riddled with potholes, our sidewalks are so damaged they're inaccessible to people with disabilities, and our streets flood from the most mild of showers. Why are they worried about rainbows?”

Black had been checking on the murals nightly since the fight with the state over the art began, which is how they noticed that the crosswalk was removed early Tuesday.

“Mostly in case there are other attempts at civil disobedience,” they said. “I wouldn’t want to be alone if that were me.”

Meanwhile, a Palm Harbor artist, Michelle Wright, whose work is known under the name Michelle Sasha, is offering private property owners — both homeowners and commercial spaces — free, inclusive murals.

The murals are offered through her company, ArtFluent Creatives, which recently launched a Love Thy Neighbor Project.

Wright also offers free palm tree murals to those living in Palm Harbor through a separate campaign. She’s painted 1,000 palm trees since starting that initiative.

She knew of the fight to keep St. Petersburg’s inclusive murals, and was also moved by the removal of a rainbow crosswalk by the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The LGBTQ+ club was the site of a 2016 mass shooting that left 49 people dead.

“I said, ‘Well, screw this. If they’re going to take our crosswalks, I’m going to find a building and give them a free mural,’” she told Patch. “It just sparked something in me.”

While Wright is cautious to leave politics out of her work, this project is personal for her, as her brother is gay, she’s in an interracial relationship and she’s Jewish, she said.

“I think all the time how blessed and privileged I feel being an artist,” she said. “My ability to create something like that — I’m honored to have a voice enough that people will actively listen. When it comes to art and humanity, it was a no-brainer for me.”