Washington, DC, to remove 'Black Lives Matter' painting from street near
White House, mayor says
[March 05, 2025]
By ASHRAF KHALIL
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's capital city will remove the large
painting of the words “Black Lives Matter” on a street one block from
the White House as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser struggles to fend off
threats of encroachment from both President Donald Trump and the
Republican-controlled Congress.
Bowser pointed to the change on the social platform X on Tuesday,
writing: “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. The devastating impacts of the
federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”
The move shows Bowser's striking shift in tone toward Trump and
congressional Republicans since the president's first term in office.
Bowser, a Democrat, ordered the painting and renamed the intersection
Black Lives Matter Plaza as a public act of defiance in June 2020. It
came after days of chaotic protests at that location over police
brutality following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police
officer.
Her approach to the protests brought her into direct conflict with
Trump. The president at the time accused Bowser of losing control of her
city and threatened to invoke his power to take over the Metropolitan
Police Department. He didn't follow through but declared his own
multiagency lockdown that included helicopters flying at low altitudes
to intimidate protesters.
In Trump's second stint in the White House, Bowser has worked to avoid
conflict and downplay any points of contention. She traveled to Trump's
Mar-a-Lago estate to meet with president after his election and has
publicly emphasized their points of agreement, such as a mutual desire
to return federal workers back to their offices full time.
Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a
federal “takeover” of the nation's capital, describing Washington as
riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has
refused to comment on reports that the White House was preparing an
executive order targeting Washington; she publicly said that the
greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was “some of the
people in Congress.”
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With the White House in the background, a man runs through Black
Lives Matter Plaza, May 25, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn
Martin, File)
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have repeatedly
threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A
measure currently before Congress, named the BOWSER Act, seeks to
completely revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973 that grants the capital
city limited autonomy.
That would be a deeply controversial, likely testing the strength of
the three-seat GOP House majority. Some representatives have used
budget riders to target Washington policies ranging from marijuana
legalization to whether right turns on red lights should be legal.
And some in Congress have spoken publicly of their disdain for the
Black Lives Matter street painting.
While Bowser and Trump agreed on returning federal workers to their
offices, Trump's push to slash the federal workforce is already
roiling city finances. A report last week from the city's chief
financial officer predicted a $1 billion budget shortfall over the
next three years due to the loss of thousands of workers from the
federal government.
Bowser publicly siding with Black Lives Matter activists in 2020
didn't earn her much credibility with them at the time. The local
Black Lives Matter affiliate dismissed the move as “performative
wokeness” and decried Bowser as overwhelmingly biased toward police.
The same activists heaped scorn on Bowser on Tuesday following her
reversal.
Nee Nee Taylor, a founding member of the D.C. Black Lives Matter
affiliate, addressed Bowser on X on Tuesday, saying, “You never
cared about Black Lives Mattering. You painting those words were
performative.”
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