A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed to NBC Washington that Bowser will remove Black Lives Matter Plaza and the “Black Lives Matter” ground mural will be painted over. There’s no timeline yet for the changes, but the street art will be replaced with a design created by D.C. schoolchildren.
Bowser said she made the decision several days ago. When pressed about why, she said it was fair to say the White House didn’t like it.
In 2020, the two-block stretch of 16th Street NW north of the White House was designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide, including in the District.
Bowser unveiled the ground mural on June 5 of that year. It was paved over about a year later, but the mural was replaced, and Bowser announced the new mural would be a permanent installation in October 2021.
It was not immediately unclear if traffic patterns would change.
On Monday, Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia introduced legislation that, if passed, would force Bowser to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza or else lose federal funding for D.C.
The bill says the District would have to rename the two-block stretch of 16th Street NW to Liberty Plaza, update all government websites and documents with the new name and cover up the huge yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural that covers the street.
If left unchanged, “certain apportionment funds” would be withheld from the District, according to the bill.
Bowser said she does not support renaming the area Liberty Plaza.
Clyde said in a statement Wednesday: “I’m very pleased that within one day of introducing my bill to rename BLM Plaza, Mayor Bowser announced plans to do just that. My focus remains on ensuring this woke, divisive slogan is removed and no longer stains the streets of America’s capital city, and I will continue pursuing my effort until BLM Plaza is officially gone for good.”
Clyde, who represents Georgia’s 9th District, has a history of diving into D.C. affairs. In 2022, the congressman advocated to repeal the Home Rule Act, which is what allows the District to govern itself. Passed in 1973, it created the branches of the D.C. government and the D.C. Council.
This also isn’t the first time Clyde suggested scrapping Black Lives Matter Plaza.
“The fact that the city spent almost $5 million on it is an incredible waste of money. And then to maintain it, another waste of money,” he told The Daily Caller in a 2024 interview. “So, honestly, the street needs to go back to the way it was, which is a public thoroughfare, and the Black Lives Matter wording needs to be paved over.”
In a statement released by Bowser on Tuesday, she said, in part, “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. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”
