‘Black Lives Matter’ mural painted on street in front of Florida town’s African American museum

St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday unveiled a new mural reading “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street in front of the city’s African American museum.

Black Lives Matter in St. Petersburg, FL ✊ pic.twitter.com/UFUEm53ntt

— AK (@Ayye_Kincyy) June 19, 2020

The Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum’s executive director, Terri Lipsey Scott, worked with city officials and 16 artists to plan the mural.

“What better starting place for such a mural in our community than at the doorsteps of where we preserve, present and interpret African American history?” Lipsey Scott told Bay News 9.

She said she was inspired by a similar mural painted near the White House in Washington, D.C., amid ongoing protests prompted by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

“I was moved to tears,” she said of D.C.’s mural. “The idea that there was such fortitude to decide to make such a bold statement in our nation’s capital, it just resonated with me in such an amazing way.”

The mural’s unveiling coincides with Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery in the U.S., but the museum was forced to cancel a planned celebration due to coronavirus concerns.

“Considering the rising positive COVID 19 cases within our community, and in keeping with the CDC guidelines, the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum is saddened to report the cancellation,” the museum posted on Facebook. “The health and wellbeing of our city is at the forefront of this decision.”