By Brinda Patel
Staff Writer
After President Donald Trump pledged to eliminate “wokeness” in America, construction workers began removing the city’s Black Lives Matter street mural in Washington, D.C., on March 10. The Trump administration also recently revived congressional efforts to put Washington back under direct federal control, according to AP News.
Ahead of the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, 2025, Senator Mike Lee of Utah introduced the BOWSER Act to repeal D.C.’s Home Rule Act of 1973. This bill is known to grant the city’s residents to elect a mayor and council.
On March 4, Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a statement on X about the evolution of the Black Lives Matter Plaza after Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde introduced a bill to revoke federal funding from Washington if Bowser moves to rename the pedestrian section to “Liberty Plaza.” According to the New York Post, Bowser has publicly stated her opposition against the bill, also known as H.R. 1774.
“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,” Bowser wrote in the statement. “The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”
Bowser released a statement from her executive office on Oct. 28, 2021, explaining that the construction of the mural would cost the city $4.8 million, along with an additional $3 million to add benches, trees, light fixtures, signage and pedestrian utilities.
According to AP News, Bowser subsidized the painting in June 2020 and renamed the intersection the “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” During his first term, Trump clashed with Bowser regarding this action and her approach to handling protests after George Floyd’s death.
In the wake of Floyd’s death in June 2020, a Black Lives Matter defiance mural was created on the surface of 16th Street Northwest, a block north of the White House by the staff of the Department of Public Works.
According to MuralsDC, all 16 letters of “Black Lives Matter” spanned 580 feet and reached a height of 40 feet. The process of this mural started after some of the city’s top muralists met on June 5, 2020. The association noted that the previously permanent installation was painted by seven artists and was made up of “durable, yellow thermoplastic paint on top” instead of traditional asphalt.
The New York Times reported that as of March 16, the Black Lives Matter Plaza had officially been removed.
The street painting was meant to be permanent. According to the Heritage Foundation, Bowser renounced and made the decision to remove the Black Lives Matter Plaza after being pressured by Republicans, who have now taken over both the White House and Congress.
During a conversation with the New York Post, White House spokesman Harrison Fields publicly criticized the paved mural, calling it an “eyesore of a virtue signal that did nothing to better the lives of black Americans in our nation’s capital.”
Keyonna Jones, one of the seven artists, was not surprised that the BLM Plaza mural would be dismantled but was surprised that it lasted as long as it did.
“I'm not always happy with what anybody does, including the mayor, but you know, you got to have grace and understand that priorities have to be met,” Jones told ABC7 News. “Everything can't last always. History is history.”
