Ken Welch raises Black History Month flag over St. Pete City Hall.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch Tuesday raised the Carter G. Woodson flag above City Hall on the first day of Black History Month.

Woodson, known as the father of Black History Month, is the namesake of the city’s Woodson African American Museum.

Welch recently made history as St. Pete’s first Black mayor. Terri Lipsey Scott, of the Woodson Museum, said Welch again made history Tuesday.

Welch warned progress toward equity in the city is threatened by those trying to sugarcoat history.

“If we don’t have a basis of facts in history as a nation, we are in danger,” he said.

– Daniel Figueroa IV, Extensive Enterprises Media