Florida Pastors Arrested Over 'Black History Matters' Mural
Florida Pastors Arrested While Praying Over ‘Black History Matters’ Mural That Gov. Ron DeSantis Ordered Removed
Two pastors were arrested in Saint Petersburg, Florida, on Friday night — because white conservatives are eternally fragile and the state government is more than happy to keep them appeased.
Let me explain…
According to The Independent, at around 8 p.m. Friday night, Reverend Andrew “Andy” Oliver and Minister Benedict Atherton-Zeman were praying over the city’s “Black History Matters” asphalt mural, which the Florida Department of Transportation had come to paint over after being directed to do so by Gov. Ron DeSantis — the poster child for white nationalist Republicans who has long-proven his dedication to putting all Black history through the woke-away whitewashing machine.
From the Independent:
The mural, created in 2023 outside of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, was next for removal as part of Governor Ron DeSantis’ order to eliminate “non-standard” road art. It’s part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to eliminate “distractions” on public roads.
Upon hearing it was up for removal, Oliver and Atherton-Zeman headed over to the mural and prayed over it. Videos and photos taken from the scene show the two pastors with their eyes closed and hands in prayer.
St. Petersburg police asked the two to move out of the way, but they refused, leading to their arrests on one misdemeanor count of resisting.
First of all, I would have more respect for these barely closeted white supremacists if they would just be honest about the motivation for these policies. Instead, we’re expected to pretend either DeSantis or President Donald Trump would give a damn about “distractions” on public roads if we were talking about some MAGA mural or a banner that quoted the governor, reading, “DEI is over in Florida.”
Secondly, the same way “Black Lives Matter” only became a thing because police officers and racist vigilantes are disproportionately profiling, harassing, brutalizing and killing Black people, the “Black History Matters” mural only exists because, under the current federal administration and in Republican states like Florida, white people are are using their power to decide how much Black history is too much Black history, and how the presentation of the subject of slavery should be softened in classrooms and museums to protect delicate Caucasian sensibilities. We wouldn’t need to say, “Black History Matters” if the fragile white conservatives in power didn’t consistently treat it like it’s a burden for white people to navigate around in the most superficial way possible, as opposed to a pivotal part of American history that needs to be studied and taught truthfully and in its entirety.
“For me, living out my faith, resisting tyranny and fascism and white supremacy was the most important thing last night,” Oliver told the Tampa Bay Times of his arrest. “I had to do what I had to do.”
“We have the values of interdependence, of love, and I really couldn’t just stand on the sidelines,” Atherton-Zeman told Fox 13 News. “I had to kneel in the street.”
The two pastors, both of whom are white, spent the night in Pinellas County jail and were released after posting a $500 bond. Meanwhile, the mural was painted over with Black paint. (Imagine that: Black paint to cover up the cause of white tears.)
“Black history still matters… if you look hard at the picture, you can see that even Ron’s paint couldn’t fully hide that truth,” Oliver wrote on Facebook.
Oliver could have been speaking literally or metaphorically — because overly sensitive white nationalists can move to censor Black history all they want, but it still happened and it will still be taught one way or another. The only thing MAGA world is doing is demonstrating that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
SEE ALSO:
Black History Mural In Miami Defaced With Swastikas And Racist Graffiti
