Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Washington D.C. is set to make changes to the large painting of the words “ Black Lives Matter” on a street just one block away from the White House. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said a day after a member of Congress introduced legislation demanding the painting be removed or risk losing federal funding.
In a statement posted to X(formerly known as Twitter), Bowser said, “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.” Bowser also said that the mural was part of D.C.’s America 250 mural project. This is a project where students and artists will create murals across all eight wards of the city. A spokesperson from the mayor’s office said the plaza would be, “evolving into something new,” but gave no further details. The 48-foot-wide mural is directly across from the White House and was originally ordered in June 2020 after days of protests over racial injustice and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
