Following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, thousands of Americans have participated in ongoing protests throughout the country.
As USA Today reported , these protests have occurred in at least 584 cities throughout all 50 states, as well as in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam.
Although all of these protests are explicit challenges to systemic racism and police brutality, those unfolding in the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. have taken on a particularly significant context due to the events of June 1.
As NPR reported , National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police cleared nonviolent protesters of Lafayette Park with the use of tear gas. Shortly thereafter, President Donald Trump walked across the park to St. John’s Church to hold up a Bible as cameras flashed. This happened without the prior knowledge of church officials.
All of this provides some context for the reasoning behind and placement of a mural and street sign that you might see if you find yourself on Washington D.C.’s 16th Street.
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As we can see in this photo, a two-block section of Washington D.C.’s 16th Street now bears a mural featuring the phrase “Black Lives Matter” stretched across the road in yellow letters.
As CNN reported , the section where this mural was placed serves as a direct route to the White House and encompasses St. John’s Church.
The painting of this mural began on the morning of June 5, 2020.
As CNN reported , the painters were contacted by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
As New York Times writer Emily Badger tweeted out, the paint used is of the same type that city workers use to mark road lanes.
Later in the day, a worker riding a cherrypicker bearing the Washington D.C. flag could be seen switching out a street sign where the mural resides.
As CNN reported , Mayor Bowser stood outside of St. John’s Church and told reporters that she and city council members were there “as Washingtonians — we simply all want to be here together in peace to demonstrate that in America — you can peacefully assemble, you can bring grievances to your government, and you can demand change.”
As the new street sign makes clear, Bowser has now officially designated this section of 16th Street as Black Lives Matter Plaza.
As we can see in this video taken by Badger, the unveiling of this sign was the subject of cheers, applause, and some boos by those witnessing it in the area.
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For the D.C. chapter of the Black Lives Matter organization, however, there was no reason to applaud this display if changes in public policy do not follow.
As expressed in this tweet, such changes that the group is demanding include defunding the city’s police force.
Another user, however, saw the mural and street sign as a symbolic act of civil resistance.
And as they expressed in a further tweet we can see here, even this act had the potential to come at some political cost to Bowser.
h/t: CNN
