TAMPA, Fla. -- Many braved the heat on Saturday morning for Tampa’s Love Walk.


What You Need To Know

  • Tampa's Love Walk held Saturday

  • WWE Titus O'Neil, Actor Dave Bautisa hosted walk

  • More good news

It was hosted by WWE’s Thaddeus Bullard, well known as “Titus O’Neil,” and actor Dave Bautista.

They made a symbolic walk across the Madame Fortune Taylor bridge as a show of love during this time of unrest.

“This is not a protest. It’s a call to action,” Bullard said.

Bullard organized the walk through his Bullard Family Foundation. It was put together in the wake of national unrest after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

He gathered community leaders, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, to show support for change.

“It’s not just law enforcement but all systems. Whether it be banking, housing, education, etc. In order to take those systems down, it’s going to collectively take everyone,” Bullard said. 

Walking alongside him was movie star and Tampa resident, Dave Bautista. 

“I’m here to walk because I believe in this cause. I believe in Thaddeus and what he is doing. I believe in the City of Tampa. I love this city,” Bautista said.

 

 

They made a symbolic walk across the Madame Fortune Taylor bridge, which was named for a freed slave who helped get a bridge built there in the late 1800s.

“Our city is in a better place because of people like Fortune Taylor. I wanted that story told,” Bullard said. 

The walk ended with the unveiling of a new “Love Wall” at the riverfront park, created by local artist Bianca Burrows. It contains many messages that have been said during the past few months. 

“That’s what this love walk is about,” Bullard said. “It’s about human beings being treated like human beings -- equally, fairly, and to try to break down these systemic issues that have plagued our country for years.”