Florida, a Trump proxy, is now going after cities with political murals and messages. Local transportation agencies have been warned that state funds could be withheld if street art installations aren’t removed.
There’s a difference between partisan, ideological politics and universal ideals. For instance, rainbow-striped murals or “Black History Matters” is a positive, societal message. “Down With Tariffs,” “President Predator,” or “Truck Fump,” however appealing and applicable, is a reach too far from bumper-sticker hectoring to public street art. Not as bad as, say, MAGA-pleasing “Plessy v. Ferguson Forever” or “In GOP We Trust,” but bad enough.
Visual, public representations of inclusion are much more than political banners. They are reminders of what we have in common as Americans and human beings. America’s mission is still treating everyone with equal respect and dignity. We have enough reminders of what we have in conflict with a cult-figure, felonious commander-in-chief. BTW, you can erase crosswalk art, but you can’t erase the reality of what prompted it and what we’re living through.