Police arrest pastors protesting removal of St. Pete's "Black History Matters" mural
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Two pastors were arrested after police say they tried to block removal of this mural outside the Woodson African American Museum of Florida in St. Petersburg. Photo: Courtesy of city of St. Petersburg
As crews in St. Petersburg began carrying out Gov. Ron DeSantis' order to erase street art, police arrested two pastors who tried to block the removal of a "Black History Matters" mural.
State of play: St. Pete police arrested Rev. Andy Oliver, 45, and Rev. Benedict Atherton-Zeman, 59, about 8pm Friday after they sat down on Ninth Avenue South and refused to heed warnings from officers to move, police spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said in a news release.
- Oliver is the pastor at Allendale United Methodist Church. Atherton-Zeman leads the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg.
- Both men were booked Friday night into the Pinellas County jail on one misdemeanor charge each of resisting an officer without violence. They were released about 5am Saturday after each posting $500 bail.
What they're saying: "Black history still matters," Oliver wrote early Saturday morning on Facebook.
- "Carter G. Woodson's words echo to us in this moment: 'Let us banish fear… I am a radical. I am ready to act, if I can find brave [people] to help me.'"
- He urged supporters to donate to the museum and to share stories of Black history.
Context: The mural, which has since been covered, was outside the Woodson African American Museum of Florida on a dead-end street with little car traffic.
- It was initially painted by numerous local artists in 2020 to say Black Lives Matter and was modified in 2023.
- Woodson was a scholar known for his study of and advocacy for African-American history. He is credited as the founder of Black History Month.
Zoom out: The artwork was the third that Florida Department of Transportation crews covered in the city after removals began Friday evening.
- The first two were a University of South Florida mural on the school's St. Pete campus and a colorful intersection at 11th Avenue South and 46th Street in Childs Park, per the Tampa Bay Times.
- St. Pete's rainbow mural was still there as of 10:40am Saturday.
