Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the Black Lives Matter mural will be replaced for the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight wards,” Bowser said in a statement. “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.”
“The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern,” she continued. “Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”
Bowser’s statement follows Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introducing a bill to rename the BLM Plaza.
“President Trump is 100% right: we must clean up Washington, D.C. for the American people,” Clyde said upon unveiling the bill. “I believe that removing BLM Plaza must be part of this critical effort. After all, BLM is a radical, defund the police organization — but we are not a defund the police nation. Yet the Left has allowed this deeply divisive slogan to shamefully stain the streets of America’s capital city for nearly five years. It’s past time for Congress to exercise its constitutional authority over Washington’s affairs to remove BLM Plaza and rename the street to Liberty Plaza. Our capital city must serve as a beacon of freedom, patriotism, and safety — not wokeness, divisiveness, and lawlessness.”
Bowser commissioned the BLM mural in 2020 amid the George Floyd riots and COVID lockdowns. She renamed a section of 16th Street NW as “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and painted the street with massive yellow block letters spelling out “Black Lives Matter” just steps from the White House.
