After local artists and volunteers in Washington, D.C., painted “Black Lives Matter” in massive yellow letters on a street leading to the White House on June 5, cities across the country have followed suit, artistically expressing their own support for weeks of anti-racism protests.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 12: (From left) Ashley Williams, her 10-year-old daughter Marley McNealy … [+] and Williams’ sister Mo McNealy work alongside volunteers and staff African American Art & Culture Complex work to paint massive letters spelling “Black Lives Matter” across Fulton Street between Webster and Octavia streets in San Francisco, Calif. Friday, June 12, 2020. “I thought it was important as an SF native to show support for community because there aren’t that many Black natives left,” says Mo. “For me, it’s paying homage to that because that was done purposefully. I’m honoring my childhood friends. People don’t understand when you aren’t from here you get to go back to your hometown and the people you grew up with are still there. But for me, it’s not the same and it’s hurtful to know that this government has done Black residents so bad. And I will continue to fight for our black residents because I miss my community.” (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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KEY FACTS
The slogan was painted in the nation’s capital while D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was engaged in an escalating fight with President Trump; she subsequently renamed a portion of the area “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
Since then, similar street art has popped up around the country, including several examples in the California cities San Francisco, Sacramento, Hollywood, and Oakland.
In downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, D.C.-inspired protesters painted “End Racism Now” on June 9.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that a 375-foot “Black Lives Matter” mural covering an entire street in Brooklyn will become a pedestrian plaza during the summer months.
The latest additions to the national canvas are in Austin, Texas, where a 40-foot slogan reading “Black Austin Matters” was painted on Tuesday morning, and in Cincinnati, where a similar mural outside City Hall was just approved.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 05: People walk down 16th street after volunteers, with permission from the … [+] city, painted “Black Lives Matter” on the street near the White House on June 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. After seven days of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th street “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, USA – JUNE 15: An aerial view of ‘Black Lives Matter’ mural painting is seen on Fulton … [+] Street in Brooklyn, New York City, United States on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 14: An aerial view of a Black Lives Matter mural on East Pine Street near Cal … [+] Anderson Park is seen during ongoing Black Lives Matter events in the so-called “CHOP,” an area that protesters have called both the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” and the “Capitol Hill Organized Protest, on June 14, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Black Lives Matter protesters have continued demonstrating in what was first referred to as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, which encompasses several blocks around the Seattle Police Departments vacated East Precinct. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 12: (From left) Ashley Williams, her 10-year-old daughter Marley McNealy … [+] and Williams’ sister Mo McNealy work alongside volunteers and staff African American Art & Culture Complex work to paint massive letters spelling “Black Lives Matter” across Fulton Street between Webster and Octavia streets in San Francisco, Calif. Friday, June 12, 2020. “I thought it was important as an SF native to show support for community because there aren’t that many Black natives left,” says Mo. “For me, it’s paying homage to that because that was done purposefully. I’m honoring my childhood friends. People don’t understand when you aren’t from here you get to go back to your hometown and the people you grew up with are still there. But for me, it’s not the same and it’s hurtful to know that this government has done Black residents so bad. And I will continue to fight for our black residents because I miss my community.” (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
TOPSHOT – The words “All Black Lives Matter” are seen painted on Hollywood Blvd before the start a … [+] solidarity march between the LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter communities, June 14, 2020 in Hollywood California. – Protests against racism and police brutality continue around the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 05: People walk down 16th street after volunteers, with permission from the … [+] city, painted “Black Lives Matter” on the street near the White House on June 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. After seven days of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th street “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 05: People walk down 16th street after volunteers, with permission from the … [+] city, painted “Black Lives Matter” on the street near the White House on June 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. After seven days of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th street “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 7: A mural of the words, “Black Lives Matter,” written in the street across three … [+] blocks of 15th Street, is shown in this composite of three aerial photos in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, June 7, 2020. The mural, inspired by the one painted in Washington D.C. near the White House, was the work of artists from the Good Mother Gallery and The Hatch Oakland.
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key quote
“There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen and to have their humanity recognized,” Bowser said during a news conference the day the D.C. mural was painted. “And we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city. That message is to the American people that black lives matter, black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up.”
key background
Protests over George Floyd’s death have entered their third week, with thousands of demonstrators still taking to the streets each day in cities across the country to demand police reform and an end to systemic racism. The protests have so far spurred nationwide change, including the defunding of major police departments, the most progressive Democratic police reform proposal in recent history, and the removal of statues across the globe tied to racism.
surprising fact
Over the weekend, Google Maps and Bing Maps added images from the “Black Lives Matter Plaza” in D.C. to their satellite and street views.
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