Two pastors knelt in prayer over a “Black History Matters” mural in St. Petersburg, Florida. Within minutes, they were handcuffed, arrested, and charged with obstruction.

Rev. Andy Oliver and Minister Benedict Atherton-Zeman weren’t shouting. They weren’t violent. They were praying—peacefully and with conviction—on a mural meant to honor Black history. Just yards away stood the Woodson African American Museum, which had helped bring the mural to life. Within hours, the state had painted over it.

Their arrest wasn’t just an attack on their First Amendment rights—it was part of a broader campaign by Florida officials to eliminate public expressions of Black history and LGBTQ+ pride from the streets. Already, four of five murals in St. Petersburg have been covered up, including those honoring diversity, inclusion, and even the memory of those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting. State leaders say it's about "road safety." But we know better. These murals weren’t traffic hazards—they were powerful symbols of love, struggle, and remembrance.

We call on Pinellas County State Attorney Bruce Bartlett to immediately drop all charges against Rev. Oliver and Minister Atherton-Zeman. Their peaceful prayer should never have been criminalized.

And we demand that the Florida Legislature act now to protect commemorative public art honoring Black and LGBTQ+ communities across the state. Erasing these murals doesn’t make our streets safer—it makes them emptier, stripped of the stories that matter most.

Faith leaders, artists, and everyday Floridians are rising up to say: this isn’t justice. This isn’t safety. This is silencing.

Public art is a public voice. Don't let Florida whitewash the truth.

Sign now to stand with the pastors—and with every community whose story deserves to be seen.