Among the rubble of Black Lives Matter Plaza

So, rest in power, Black Lives Matter Plaza. Mayor Muriel Bowser has at last caved to Republican pressure and is overseeing the renovation of the stretch of Washington’s 16th Street NW leading up to the White House ahead of the US’s 250th anniversary next year.

Demolition of the plaza began Monday near Lafayette Square, where BLM protesters were cleared using tear gas in June 2020, and in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where an arsonist started a fire in the basement during the protest. These events sparked Bowser’s decision to create a permanent plaza there in solidarity with their cause — protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week earlier — and in resistance to then-President Donald Trump.

A handful of DC locals paused as they passed by to watch workers deconstruct the approximately $7.8 million plaza. Many reached out to collect pieces of the upturned concrete, which still bore fragments of the 48-foot-tall, all-caps yellow letters spelling “BLACK LIVES MATTER” that had until recently spanned two blocks — as if they were remnants of the Berlin Wall.

Lonny Geller, a commuter, stopped on his bike to survey the scene. Having only been in the city for a few weeks, this was Geller’s first time crossing BLM Plaza. As a “blue-voting American,” Geller thought the renovation a waste of money, but felt partially reassured when he found out about the future plans for the plaza.

Last week, Bowser announced that after the six to eight weeks of renovations, the BLM Plaza would become part of DC’s America 250 mural project. The city’s “long-considered” plan is to prepare for the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary next year by having local students and artists create murals across all eight wards.

That announcement came after receiving some serious pressure from House Republicans. Representative Andrew Clyde of introduced HR-1774 last week which threatened to withhold federal funding unless the mural was erased and the site was renamed “Liberty Plaza.” Although Republicans have previously pushed Bowser to take down the plaza, she has only now taken the request seriously, with the GOP in control of the House, Senate and White House. 

One of the workers on the scene, Mike McNeill, indicated that he is not a fan of the change and blames Bowser for not fighting back. However, he said he has adopted an “it is what it is” mentality, as he sees no point in resisting “until we get [Trump] out of that chair.”

Both McNeill and Geller seemed to agree that the street renovation itself was trivial, but McNeill said Bowser’s focus and funding should be directed toward addressing the city’s high crime and murder rates.

Although Bowser briefly touched upon crime rates in her statement last week, her “number one concern” is the “devastating impacts of the federal job cuts.”