DC paints giant Black Lives Matter mural
WASHINGTON — City workers and local artists painted the words “Black Lives Matter” in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbia’s embrace of a protest movement that has put it even further at odds with President Donald Trump.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said after the mural was completed Friday that it was intended to send a message of support and solidarity to Americans outraged over the killing of George Floyd by police.
“There is a lot of distrust of police and the government. There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen and to have their humanity recognized,” the mayor said.
The letters and an image of the city’s flag stretch across 16th Street for two blocks. The mural ends near St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Trump staged a photo-op Monday after officers fired tear gas and charged demonstrators to make way for the president and his entourage.
A sign now identifies that section of 16th Street near the White House as “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
Bowser has verbally clashed with the Trump administration over the handling of the protests. The mayor has complained about the heavy-handed federal response and called for the removal of out-of-state National Guard troops.
She says their differences highlight the need for D.C. to be a state and have more control over its affairs. They may also reflect the fact that Trump is deeply unpopular in the district.
The local chapter of Black Lives Matter said it did not support painting the street and took a swipe at Bowser. “This is performative and a distraction from her active counter organizing to our demands to decrease the police budget and invest in the community,” it said on Twitter.