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Crews have begun work to remove the large yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural painted on the street one block from the White House.
The removal, expected to last around six weeks, follows D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement of the change last week after pressure from Republicans in Congress. The mural will be replaced by a series of city-sponsored murals, the specifics of which are yet to be revealed.
The original painting of the “Black Lives Matter” slogan in 2020 was a bold act of defiance against then-President Donald Trump. Ordered by Mayor Bowser, a Democrat, the mural and the renaming of the intersection to Black Lives Matter Plaza followed days of protests over police brutality and the murder of George Floyd.
Now, with Trump back in the White House and Republicans holding a majority in Congress, the removal of the mural signifies the District of Columbia’s vulnerable political position.
Bowser has little power to fend off encroachments on D.C.’s limited autonomy.
She said last week on X that, “The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”
As construction equipment began tearing up the pavement some gathered to witness the moment.
“I needed to be here today. I can’t just let this go away,” said Starlette Thomas, a 45-year old Bowie, Maryland resident who attended the 2020 Floyd protests. At the plaza, Thomas discretely secured a chunk of pavement and said holding it made her both happy and sad.
“To walk away with a piece of that, it means it’s not gone,” she said. “It’s more than brick and mortar.”
Also on the scene was Megan Bailiff, CEO of Equus Striping, the pavement marking company that originally painted the letters.
Bailiff called the dismantling of Black Lives Matter Plaza, “historically obscene” and said its presence was, “more significant at this very moment than it ever has been in this country.”
The far right celebrated the shift online, with conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk visiting the site to hail, “the end of this mass race hysteria in our country.”
In Trump’s second term, Bowser has worked to avoid conflict and downplay any points of contention. She travelled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with Trump after the election and has publicly emphasized their points of agreement.
Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a federal “takeover” of the nation’s capital, describing Washington as being riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has refused to comment on reports that the White House is preparing an executive order targeting Washington. She publicly said that the greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was “some of the people in Congress.”
Congressional Republicans have repeatedly threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A measure currently before Congress, named the BOWSER Act, seeks to completely revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the capital city limited autonomy.
