Black Lives Matter street painting in Tallahassee stokes both anger and support

A Black Lives Matter mural painted in the intersection of Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue this week has not come without controversy. 

John and Janis Barbour, who are both in their 60s and have lived in Tallahassee for 15 years, visited the intersection Wednesday to see it for themselves as city employees worked to complete it. 

"We don't believe in the Black Lives Matter movement," John Barbour said. "They're communists and admit they're communists. They're here to divide America. They don't care about Blacks. It's just a ruse."

His wife agreed: "It's pretty disturbing that they've got all the city workers down here," she said. "It's not right."

Some locals took to social media to express their disapproval of the painting.

Paula KG, said "taxpayers should be up in arms that local government is putting this on our public roadway," and "local government should not be placing any political messages on our roadways."

Others were excited to see the mural coming. 

LaToyia Allen posted on Facebook that the mural "doesn't do anything."

The 31-year-old said that while she is happy to see any kind of recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement, a mural doesn't get to the core issue.

“If there’s no actual policy change, then it’s kind of counterproductive," she said. "We’re doing this just to be like 'yes, we care' but there’s no actual action behind it."

Allen has many ideas for changes that could be implemented.

She doesn't want the police to be abolished but said they don't need to be called for every domestic dispute.

She also believes some of the money being spent to fund police departments and police unions should be used to test untested rape kits and educate police officers and at-risk communities about how to more safely interact with each other. 

Allen said the mural is "just something nice to do." 

"A lot of the Black people in Tallahassee, especially on the south side of town, are going to walk by that but still have to deal with living on the south side of town and how money’s getting taken out of there," Allen said. "Or how more buildings are being built but it’s more gentrification than helping out the area."

Perennial City Hall critic Erwin Jackson's post on Facebook garnered 120 comments. 

Jackson said: "Let’s take every intersection from Monroe to FSU with a mural! If we have Black Lives Matter, let’s add Spanish Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, Children Lives Matter, Police Lives Matter, Seminole Indians Lives Matter, Special Needs Individual’s Lives Matter and finally All Lives Matter!"

The painting of the mural was completed Wednesday afternoon and the intersection re-opened around 1 p.m.

Contact Tori Lynn Schneider at tschneider@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @photoriphy. Check out her photos on Instagram @phototori_.