Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration succeeded in erasing around a dozen rainbows from Florida’s roads over the last month as part of a ban on street murals. But the state’s actions have forecast more rainbows than ever in Tampa Bay.
“We’re going to paint back thousands,” St. Pete art agent Michelle Sasha told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “Hopefully they’ll regret their decision, because now there’s going to be way more rainbows than they were hoping for.”
While the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wastes resources arresting repainters and re-graying roads, businesses and homes across Tampa Bay are using their private property to support LGBTQ+ and Black communities.
St. Pete gay bar Cocktail has a new rainbow facade thanks to the controversy, and Dunedin church Faith UCC plans to paint its driveway painted with a massive rainbow mural saying “welcome.”
Activists in St. Pete also chalked the crosswalk and sidewalks at Central Avenue’s recently-painted-over “Progressive Pride” mural.
When Sasha saw news of protesters repeatedly chalking the rainbow back on the crosswalk outside Pulse in Orlando, including one who was arrested, she wanted to bring art that same resistance and resilience to Tampa Bay.
As part of her “Love Thy Neighbor” project, Sasha rallied local painters to provide free Pride and Black Lives Matter murals to local property owners. Jazzy Erickson, Zac “Lysol” Schaffer and Ceara Rae are working their way through around 200 requests for mailbox and driveway art. Full disclosure: This reporter’s home is on that list.
Residents can put in requests and donate resources at artfluentcreatives.com/love-thy-neighbor-project. And while there are designs to choose from, Sasha emphasized that the project isn’t just reusing the same stencil to make a point. Each piece is customized with its owner.
“It just feels like such an attack on the art that, you know, it feels really good to be able to really customize these…and make each person feel like they’re really involved and have something really beautiful to show for it,” Sasha said.
She was recently surprised to see Trump signs in the yard of a woman who requested a rainbow mural—Trump’s transportation secretary has specifically targeted rainbow crosswalks—but that didn’t stop her from completing the project.
“I don’t want to exclude anybody who is leading with love and wants to promote love,” Sasha told CL. “If this woman is brave enough to put a rainbow on the driveway of this very conservative street next to her Trump flag, then regardless of who she voted for, she leads with humanity. And to me, that is the underlying purpose of all this, to make sure people feel loved and safe.”
She’d also like to recreate St. Pete’s “Black History Matters” mural. Pastors Andy Oliver and Benedict Atherton-Zeman were arrested last month while peacefully protesting on the mural outside the Woodson African American Museum before it was removed. Days later, the message was repainted on an outline left by state workers. FDOT covered it back up, painting the whole street black last week.
“If you want to take it off the street, fine,” Sasha recalled thinking. “I’ll put it on a wall.”
Until then, Woodson supporters plan to literally become the message. During a “free museum day” celebration on Sept. 20, guests are encouraged to wear yellow, green, or red tops and dark bottoms to “ReIMagine” the mural for an aerial photo.
“Resistance is real,” Woodson Director Terri Lipsey Scott told CL after the mural was anonymously repainted.
“Folks are really taking to heart the matter of silencing the voices of those who have been disenfranchised.”
Shade wars
Several cities are still fighting FDOT’s mandate, and it’s unclear who will pay for mural coverups.
FDOT District Secretary Justin Hall previously stated that “all costs associated with the removal will be assessed against the City of St. Petersburg.” Tampa and St. Pete officials both told CL they haven’t heard from FDOT about charges.
Many of the street murals were previously approved by local governments and FDOT before being painted. The FDOT-approved, award-winning recently-painted over crosswalk outside Tampa’s Rampello K-8 school, promoted literacy.
All 47 of Tampa’s street murals, including its infamous and illegally painted ‘Bock the Blub’ pro-police art, were removed by city and state workers over Labor Day weekend.
St. Pete officials did not respond when asked this week for updates on its vow to “build back better” and replace its murals with more powerful dedications.
Key West’s rainbow crosswalks don’t have much time left. The city that initially led the fight against FDOT’s mandate got a final notice on Monday that its rainbow crosswalks will be removed. The city isn’t pursuing further legal action.
And not every city has given up.
The City of Delray Beach escalated its legal battle with FDOT this week for its rainbow intersection, filing a motion to remove the FDOT-appointed officer overseeing its court case.
In defense of its rainbow terrazzo pavers, the city of Miami Beach filed a challenge last week at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, arguing that the Department of Transportation issued the directive in its June 30 memorandum without going through a legally required rule-making process.
An administrative law judge could block enforcement of the memo unless the state properly adopts it as a rule, which would involve a process including opening the issue for public comment.
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This article appears in Sept. 11-17 2025.