The Democrat Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, had no choice but to give in to the pressures of Republican party activists and remove the huge sign with the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” which was painted one block from the White House.
He still doesn’t know what type of images he will replace the sign with, but according to AP, the work is expected to last about six weeks.
“The removal is equivalent to a public acknowledgment of how vulnerable the District of Columbia is now that Trump has returned to the White House and the Republicans control both chambers of Congress,” says the news agency quoted.
Bowser herself ordered the phrase to be painted in June 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. As you may recall, the man’s death triggered a wave of protests against police brutality, and at the same time, the Mayor clashed with Trump over how he was handling the demonstrations.
When announcing the removal of the mural, the Mayor of Washington expressed the following in X: "The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we cannot afford to be distracted by senseless legislative interference. The devastating impacts of federal job cuts must be our main concern."
Reactions to the removal of the mural in Washington
Reactions were not long in coming after the mural one block from the White House in Washington was removed. Some people approached to see how the work crews were taking down the sign, while others expressed their opinion through social media.
“I needed to be here today. I can’t just let this disappear,” said Starlette Thomas, a 45-year-old resident of Bowie, Maryland, who was at the Floyd protests in 2020, to AP.
People who were taking parts of the sign or bricks as a keepsake were present. In addition, Megan Bailiff, CEO of Equus Striping, the company that painted the letters, was also present. The executive described the incident as “historically obscene.”
On the other hand, right-wing extremists celebrated the event. AP indicated that one of them was conservative Charlie Kirk, who was also on site to acclaim “the end of this massive racial hysteria in our country.”