ST. PETERSBURG, FL \u2014 As soon as they learned on Aug. 22 that St. Petersburg would lose several beloved street murals, most notably the \u201cBlack History Matters\u201d mural by the Woodson Museum and the Grand Central District\u2019s LGBTQ+ Progressive Pride crosswalk, at the hands of the Florida Department of Transportation, Lauren Sloniger and Jackie McKeon immediately made some signs and stood at the intersection, waving to Friday evening traffic. <\/p>\n
They stood there for hours sharing a message of love and support with their community. <\/p>\n
Inspired by the support they received in return \u2014 mostly honks and cheers of solidarity \u2014 the couple returned to the corner on the morning of Aug. 23 and told Patch that they would keep coming back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much the [President Donald Trump\u2019s] administration is doing on such a global scale, on a national scale, that is just so terrible and abysmal,\u201d McKeon said. \u201cHere\u2019s something that, not to say it\u2019s a smaller scale, but here\u2019s something local that\u2019s two blocks away from us. So, we feel like we can go out right now and maybe impact things locally.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the murals disappearing at the hands of FDOT crews this weekend \u2014 as of Saturday afternoon, only the Grand Central District\u2019s rainbow crosswalk remained \u2014 even more local activists and concerned residents are taking to the streets in protest. <\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n A chalk walk-in is taking place at Bayboro Brewing on Saturday at 4 p.m. into the evening. Those attending are encouraged to draw on the sidewalks nearby in chalk. and musical artist Damag3 will speak to the crowd. <\/p>\n