Work to alter D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street NW will begin Monday, with that phrase expected to be removed.
The space, renamed in 2020 by Mayor Muriel Bowser during the George Floyd protests, will be repurposed for a city mural initiative wherein students and artists will create new artworks around the District of Columbia to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
“Over the next several weeks, crews from the District Department of Transportation will be reconstructing Black Lives Matter Plaza, requiring temporary closures along 16th Street NW in phases,” DDOT told Washington’s WUSA on Friday.
The work is expected to take six to eight weeks.
The plaza was the target of Rep. Andrew Clyde, Georgia Republican, who introduced a bill Monday to “withhold certain apportionment funds from the District of Columbia unless the mayor of the District of Columbia removes the phrase Black Lives Matter from the street symbolically designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
In a post on social media Tuesday, Ms. Bowser said that “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,” adding that the city was focusing on public safety, the economy and helping those affected by federal job cuts.
Mr. Clyde told WRC-TV that he’s happy the lettering on the plaza will be removed, adding that his “focus remains on ensuring this woke, divisive slogan is removed and no longer stains the streets of America’s capital city.”
In his bill, he demanded that it be renamed Liberty Plaza. Ms. Bowser said at a press conference Wednesday that “we don’t support the congressman’s bill.”
One of the artists involved in painting “Black Lives Matter” on the plaza in yellow said she understands why the city is removing the phrase.
“In the city, we can’t avoid politics, right? We either fight for this or we lose funding. People have lost their homes, people have lost their jobs, and we need to keep whatever we can. … Sometimes, you’ve just got to prioritize, and I understand. So, again, I’m just grateful to have been a part of history,” Keyonna Jones, a native of Southeast, told WTOP-FM.
