Florida county commissioner objects to fellow council member’s BLM logo in the background of his Zoom and says she ‘wouldn’t put up artwork on abortion’
- Pinellas County Commissioner objected to member’s BLM Zoom backgroud
- She said she had ‘no problem’ with the artwork, but found it inappropriate during the work calls
- Welch defended his background, saying: ‘In 2020 in the world that we’re living in we need to speak out on issues’
- St. Petersburg Mayor criticized Peters for asking Welch to change background
A Florida county commissioner has objected to a fellow council member setting his Zoom background to a Black Lives Matter mural image.
Commissioner Ken Welch has appeared in virtual meetings with the Black Lives Matter street mural in South St. Pete as his backdrop over the past few weeks.
Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters took issue with the image and is now asking that he remove it.
Commissioner Ken Welch has appeared in virtual meetings with the Black Lives Matter street mural in South St. Pete as his backdrop over the past few weeks
Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters (pictured) took issue with the image and is now asking that he remove it
Peters explained that while she has no problem with the artwork itself, she found it inappropriate that he should make it his Zoom background during work calls.
‘I have no problem with the artwork behind him personally, I don’t.
‘But the bottom line is once you start one person having a sign and that is in fact a sign, even though it’s artwork – now what’s to say I’m not going to put up a piece of artwork about, abortion, just for an example,’ she told Florida Politics on Tuesday.
Several local artists painted the Black Live Matter mural on the street during a Juneteenth 2020 celebration in St. Petersburg, Florida
Peters claimed that she even received emails from constituents who are offended by the image.
On Tuesday, the commissioner raised the issue at the end of a meeting to discuss funding amid the Covid-19 crisis. She suggested the development of a document setting out policies and guidelines for council members.
Welch defended his background, saying: ‘In 2020 in the world that we’re living in we need to speak out on issues.
‘This is a Zoom background and I will continue to use this Zoom background because I feel that strongly about it.’
No further action was taken.
Taking to Twitter, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman wrote: ‘It is just shameful that Commissioner Peters has an issue with a few letters of our BLM street mural being used as Commissioner Welch’s background’
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman afterwards criticized Peters for asking Welch to change his background.
Taking to Twitter, the mayor wrote: ‘It is just shameful that Commissioner Peters has an issue with a few letters of our BLM street mural being used as Commissioner Welch’s background.
‘Her judgment is way off and her politics are clearly out of step with who are in Pinellas and St. Pete. Really unbelievable.’
The St. Petersburg ‘Black Lives Matter’ street mural was hand-painted by several local artists and was unveiled during a Juneteenth celebration last month in response to the killing of George Floyd, as the area saw weeks of protests against racism and police brutality.