D.C. Erases Black Lives Matter Mural Under Threat of Funding Cuts
Although originally promised to be permanent, the words that ‘inspired millions of people’ will be deleted from the city streets. Save to My Ocula
Workers have this week begun the job of erasing Washington, D.C.‘s Black Lives Matter mural, after federal threats to the city to remove the words or lose federal funding.
Republican congressman Andrew Clyde’s bill last week demanded the removal of the mural, which features the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted across two pedestrian blocks in large yellow letters not far from the White House.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested the repaving of the area, known as Black Lives Matter Plaza, with plans to replace her own commissioned mural with new city-sponsored works.
Clyde’s bill further demands the city rename the area Liberty Plaza and remove the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ from all communications.
Bowser originally said the mural would be permanent, noting it sent a strong message that ‘power has always been and always will be with well-meaning people’.
Last week, Bowser wrote on X that while the mural ‘inspired millions of people’ and ‘helped the city through a very painful period’, the city is prioritising its economy and residents facing federal job cuts, and cannot ‘afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference’.
The project’s realisation was perceived in defiance to President Donald Trump’s first term, with Trump calling Bowser ‘grossly incompetent’ and unqualified to run the U.S. capital on X following the mural’s unveiling, after protests in D.C. turned violent and saw police using tear gas on demonstrators.
At the time, the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter called the mural ‘a performative distraction’, adding that Bowser did not stand behind their goal of defunding police. —[O]
In 2020, Artreview‘s Power100 list designated the Black Lives Matter movement as number one in terms of art world influence. More on this year’s ranking, topped by director and curator Hoor Al Qasimi, can be read here.
Main image: Black Lives Matter Plaza removal, Washington, D.C. (10 March 2025). Photo: G. Edward Johnson via Creative Commons.
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