WASHINGTON, D.C. NEWS – Crews begin removing the Black Lives Matter mural from the plaza

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Construction crews in Washington, D.C. have begun the process of removing the Black Lives Matter mural from the plaza. The mural was put in during the 2020 protests against police brutality that were sparked by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The removal of the mural from the plaza was first spurred on because of a Republican bill that threatened to limit funding to the city if the mural was not removed. In June 2020, the mural was installed and covered two blocks from 16th Street, about a quarter of a mile from the White House. In 2022, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the mural would be a permanent fixture to commemorate the protests. 

However, last week Andre Clyde introduced a bill calling for the city to paint over the mural and rename the area Liberty Plaza or risk losing federal funds. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Bowser said, “The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference.” One resident, Adrianne Lind, said, “There’s no such thing as erasure.” She went on to say, “If that’s the attempt, it’s just not possible to do. It’s not just that we saw it — the whole world saw it.”