st. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Both protests and petitions are growing in response to the National Department of Transport deadlines that submit and then remove certain street art, like a progressive pride mural on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg.
Johnathon Hackworth told WFLA that he painted some of the Pride mural himself.
“Yeah, I drew some stripes,” Hackworth said.
He said it could be erased.
“So they call it St. Pete’s Pride. It disappoints me. It’s really iconic to St. Petersburg,” Hackworth said.
Today, at 2pm, LGBTQ community members, the NAACP, St. Petersburg branch and Woodson will hold a “save our street mural” protest against the order that feels like erasing the colorful culture of our city at city hall.
DOT gave the cities and counties a deadline for August 30th and submitted a list of road art and mural locations.
FDOT hopes that the art will be removed by September next year. They said it was a distraction, but not everyone agrees.
“We’re going to have this conversation over and over again about distractions, ask for more details, and research that suggests something like that,” said Dr. Byron Greene Carish, director of the board of directors at St. Pete Price.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X. “Taxpayers expect the dollar to fund a safe street, not a rainbow crossing.”
But Dr. Green Kalich says that this art is an expression of safety.
“As Americans, when we travel the world, we are looking for a bar that may fly the American flag, so we know that the place is safe for us. That’s exactly the same as these murals,” Dr. Green Carish said.
As for Hackworth, today’s planned protests lie on his agenda of raising his voice to protect the artwork.
“You’ll see me at city hall,” Hackworth said.
Refusing to comply may result in federal and state funds withholding.
The petition “Save Our Street Murals” currently has over 2,000 signatures.
