Street fair vibe replaces violence outside WH

Gallery comprises messages, posters and portraits from loving to enraged

Washington, June 9: That massive fence erected around Lafayette Park has become a do-it-yourself gallery of protest art. Messages, posters and portraits, ranging from loving to enraged, almost blot out the view of the White House across the way.

One block away at the corner of 16th and I streets — a constant flash point for most of last week — the calliope version of “La Cucaracha” rang out from an ice cream truck parked just outside the police roadblock. In front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, it was so tranquil Monday afternoon you could hear the birds chirping while a white visitor paid for a $20 Black Lives Matter Tshirt with Venmo.

As the nation’s capital emerges from a violent and chaotic 10-day stretch of protests and street battles, a different mood is taking hold. The anger has given way to something closer to a street fair as community leaders, members of Congress and the DC government have rallied to the protesters’ cause.

“For me this is exactly the sort of atmosphere it should be,” said Leigh McAlpin, a writer and veteran activist from Baltimore, who was staffing a medical relief tent offering water and snacks.

“Last night we were doing the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ in the street.” Police have turned a several-block area north of Lafayette Park, in front of the White House, into an open air pedestrian space. The area is pristine, with no sign of broken glass and only minimal graffiti visible. The clearest sign of last week’s protests — other than the massive yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted in the middle of 16th Street — is the sheets of plywood covering almost every window on the block. At the medical relief tents, the number-one priority was no longer dousing people with milk and antacid to counter the effect of smoke bombs and pepper balls. “Please stay hydrated. We have free water here,” said one volunteer over a loudspeaker.

“Donald Trump is not your friend and neither is the sun on a day like this.”