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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When it comes to public art, the Tampa Bay area is no stranger to mural-covered walls and, at one time, mural-covered streets.
In 2020, new artists emerged with painting things like the Black Lives Matter street mural in St. Pete and similar murals in Tampa.
A number of those artists were Black artists who say representation was crucial during a time of racial unrest in this country and that representation is just as important now.
For artist Jade Jackson, all she sees is color when she thinks of what her art brings to the world. For her, representation plays a big role in her work.
“It’s not something abstract or nature-based. I like painting women and women of color. A lot of my artwork and paintings I’ve done and sold, they’re usually Black,” Jackson said. “I’m really into, like, the sci-fi fantasy anime world, and I love redoing things sometimes in a way where it shows us. And so I think that representation is important in regards to younger people seeing us.”
Jackson said she applied that same intentional approach in 2020 when she was asked to paint three words that mean so much to her. “Black Lives Matter. So, I had the S. So Black Lives, I had the “S” in the middle for lives,” she said.
The project in front of the Woodson African American Museum in St. Pete was her first mural.
“I was like, ‘Let me do something that comes natural for me,’ and so I approached it with joy and excitement and curiosity. I was, ‘Like, let me paint something I enjoy,’ and I thought if people see that and feel inspired, that’s great,” she said.
Two years later she painted over the Black Lives Matter mural and helped paint the Black History Matters street mural. Then, in 2025, she watched as it was painted over following a directive from the Florida Department of Transportation, citing safety hazards and restrictions against ideological or political markings on roadways.
The move sparked an emotional response from a lot of people, but Jackson said she was more worried about the broader picture.
“I care more about what they’re doing to us than them painting over the mural,” she said.
A popular street mural in Tampa was also inspired by the racial reckoning in America back in 2020. Mark Anthony, along with his son, was one of the artists there that day.
“I felt some type of way with it, but it was also just, I think, the camaraderie of the artists and now seeing those artists from that period how they’ve grown,” Anthony said. “Shout out to that day. I mean it was a great moment to see community come together all at once. So, to me, it was an amazing experience.”
It’s an experience that now lives on through photos and memories because it was also painted over after FDOT directives.
Jackson believes the message in the murals belongs in public view.
“I think we can still have a place for it, and I think it is a strong reminder. We have things that remind us of the Holocaust and 9/11, things that are important, and Black history is a part of this country and this culture and important to all of us,” she said.
Libraries, city hall and the courthouse are just some of her suggestions for a new mural to replace the street art. And she’s hoping someone is listening.
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Saundra Weathers
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