District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday had “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street that leads to the White House where protesters have been demonstrating following George Floyd’s death in police custody.
“There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen, and to have their humanity recognized, and we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city,” Bowser said at a press conference. “And it is that message, and that message is to the American people, that Black Lives Matter black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up as part of our values as a city,”
The mayor said that the people who painted it were from the D.C. Public Works department.
“There was a dispute this week about whose street this is,” John Falcicchio, chief of staff for Bowser, a Democrat, said earlier in a tweet. “Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC’s street and to honor demonstrators who (were) peacefully protesting on Monday evening.”
President Donald Trump slammed Bowser Friday afternoon, tweeting, “The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who’s budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for ‘handouts’, is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment…over the last number of nights. If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!”
People were seen painting the words “Black Lives Matter” on Friday morning in large block letters in yellow across 16th street, which leads to Lafayette Square and the White House.
Bowser tweeted later in the morning that that particular section of 16th Street has been renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
The official D.C. chapter of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, however, suggested in a tweet that this move was merely an empty gesture by Bowser.
“This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police. @emilymbadger say it with us,” the account tweeted.
This comes several days after Trump ordered the U.S. Park Police and National Guard troops forcefully removed demonstrators who were peacefully protesting outside the White House on Monday evening. The crowd was dispersed so Trump could walk out of the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo-op in which he held up a Bible.
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Bowser blasted Trump for what occurred, tweeting, “I imposed a curfew at 7 pm. A full 25 minutes before the curfew & w/o provocation, federal police used munitions on peaceful protesters in front of the White House, an act that will make the job of @DCPoliceDept officers more difficult. Shameful! DC residents — Go home. Be safe.”
The painting of the phrase Black Lives Matter came as Bowser shared a letter addressed to Trump from Thursday in which she requested that he withdraw “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C.” now that she has ended the state of emergency for the city and the Metropolitan Police Department didn’t make any arrests on Wednesday night.
CORRECTION (June 5, 2020 2:06 p.m.): Photo captions on a previous version of this article incorrectly described who painted “Black Lives Matter” on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. City employees painted the tribute at the mayor’s instruction; the painters were not protesters.
