Floridians fight DeSantis crackdown on street art
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
"RESIST" was recently painted on the sidewalk by St. Petersburg's Progress Pride flag street mural at Central Avenue and 25th Street. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
As crews paint over Florida's colorful streets, residents in Tampa Bay and across the state are fighting back.
Why it matters: The acts of resistance speak to frustrations that the state and federal street art crackdown treads on community values, usurps local power and distracts from more pressing issues.
State of play: Demonstrators in St. Petersburg will gather Sunday near the city's Progress Pride flag intersection to cover the sidewalks with chalk art and line up along Central Avenue in rainbow colors or shirts with messages of support.
- Local artist Michelle Sasha also launched the Love Thy Neighbor project to paint free murals of inclusive symbols, such as the Pride flag or Black Lives Matter raised fist, on driveways and mailboxes.
- Her collective, ArtFluent Creatives, carried out a similar project in northern Pinellas County with local imagery like palm trees and sponge-diver helmets.
Meanwhile, Tampa parent group Sidewalk Stompers is calling on supporters to urge state leaders to save painted crosswalks near schools that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) once praised for their innovative contributions to school safety.
- "It's very disheartening to see that student safety and interests are being put last," president Emily Hinsdale told 10 Tampa Bay.
The big picture: Equality Florida launched the #ShowYourRainbow campaign, encouraging supporters to hoist rainbow flags and paint or chalk their driveways.
- Organizers in Miami Beach will hold the Forever Pride March this weekend, while elected officials in Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Key West have continued to defy the state. In Tallahassee, a group of seniors staged a sit-in.
- And last week, after FDOT crews painted over a rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse in Orlando, hundreds of protesters colored it back in with sidewalk chalk. Local businesses also offered up their parking lots for community art.
What they're saying: "What they attempt to erase will be even bigger and better," Equality Florida executive director Nadine Smith told Axios this week.
Between the lines: While many of the protests revolve around artwork representing marginalized groups, Tampa Bay murals supporting police and the University of South Florida are slated for removal.
- Crews have already painted over raceway-themed crosswalks in Daytona Beach.
The other side: State transportation officials have said without evidence that the art distracts and confuses drivers.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis this week pinned the blame on a new state law, but some Democratic lawmakers refuted that assertion, saying it was an internal rule change that spurred the removals
The intrigue: The U.S. Department of Transportation under President Trump has issued a similar directive to all state governors, but DeSantis appears to be the only one actively enforcing it.
What's next: Sunday's chalk art demonstration in St. Pete starts at noon, with the stand-up along Central beginning at 2pm.
- Organizers are also collecting sidewalk chalk donations at Allendale United Methodist Church and urging supporters to donate to local transgender advocacy organizations My Trans Network and Trans United in Elevation.