On Wednesday morning in downtown Washington, D.C., Keena Jones stood at her artwork, recalling the time when she and six other artists were summoned to the mayor's office and painted murals in the middle of the night.
“Black Lives Matter” read in bright yellow letters on the streets that ran through two city blocks, and rang out the message at the White House across Lafayette Square. In June 2020, demonstrations broke out in cities across the country in protest of George Floyd's murder when Jones helped paint the mural. The creation of Black Lives Matter Plaza was a statement of rebellion from DC mayor Muriel E. Bowser.
However, on Tuesday evening, the mayor announced that the mural would be gone.
Jones said the news had confused her. However, she added the mayor in an interview.
The city of Washington has been in a very vulnerable location these days. Council Republicans have introduced legislation to end D.C.'s already restricted powers, stripping residents of their ability to elect mayors and city councils. Trump himself supports the federal takeover of Washington, saying the federal government insists on reporters that it “runs it strongly, runs it in law and order, and makes it absolutely beautiful.” Recently, the administration has been considering executive orders in pursuit of his vision for the city.
Potential laws and orders aside, the administration has already fired thousands of federal workers, leaving residents in the city, potentially sacrificing about $1 billion in losses to Washington over the next three years, according to official city estimates.
With all this in mind, Democrat Bowser described her decisions on issues of black life as a practical calculation.
“We have more fish to fry than the battle over the Plaza,” she said Wednesday at City Hall. Bowser said the murals are an important part of the city's history, especially in the summer of 2020. But “now our focus is on ensuring that our residents and our economy survive,” she said.
If Trump was satisfied, he gave almost an indication of it. In a post about True Society on Wednesday night, the president said his administration ordered the mayor to “clean all unsightly homeless encampments.” “If she can't do that, we will be forced to do that for her!” he wrote. He then thanked her for her efforts.
Certainly, she didn't say whether the decision on Black Lives Matter Plaza directly responded to specific actions or threats by Congress or the White House, but she admitted that people in the administration didn't like murals.
On Monday, Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican who frequently monitors Washington for legislative purposes, introduced a bill that threatened to withhold millions of people in federal funds if the city repaints the square and doesn't change its name. However, the mayor said the decision had been made for some time and was scheduled to be announced at a celebration meeting around his 250th birthday nationwide later this month.
In a social media post Tuesday evening, the mayor said the Plaza will be redesigned as part of a citywide mural project in connection with the anniversary. However, she said on Wednesday that news media inquiries about the fate of the Plaza forced her hand. The mayor's office gave little details on whether the Black Lives Matter Plaza would be renamed, or how the mural itself would be removed.
At the town hall, Bowser said he believes that one executive order aimed at cracking down on crime and homelessness in the District of Columbia, as reported by the Washington Post.
But Trump administration officials say they continue to be committed to addressing the president's complaints about the district, and that an executive order from the city-focused White House could come soon next week. Authorities declined to elaborate on the details of the president's order, saying it was still under review and the timeline was in fluidity.
“President Trump makes it clear that he intends to restore law and order to the nation's capital and reinvigorate the dignity of this storied city,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement.
Bowser suggested that there will always be risks of additional federal intervention and acquisition given the city's complex status within the US government. She did not express a rethinking of her decision regarding Black Lives Matter Plaza.
“This is a threat to our city right now,” the mayor said. “We're entering the budget season and it's estimated that revenue has dropped by $1 billion, and the threat of Medicaid cuts is looming, which is what DC residents want to focus on me.”
“They want us to be smart and strategic and to get to the other side,” the mayor added. “That's my job. I'm going to move us to the other side.”
Bowser has primarily adopted a diplomatic approach to Trump, pledging to work closely with him on shared priorities, including visiting him at Mar Arago before taking office and bringing federal employees back to the office.
When she characterizes her discussions with the White House about DC, she describes it as being frequent and continuous, so Bowser often typically highlights Trump's goal of making DC “the most beautiful capital in the world.” She tried to argue for what the administration clearly contemplated, but clearly contemplated, to counteract its aesthetic vision, including the placement of numerous large federal buildings in the local real estate market.
The decision regarding Black Lives Matter Plaza was perhaps the most notable sign of the mayor's balanced act. Not everyone was sympathetic.
“You don't understand why she's doing that,” said Angela Harrelson, the aunt of George Floyd, who lives in Minnesota. “They can make up all the excuses they want about this. The message they are sending is still the same. You are trying to destroy history, you are trying to erase your memory.”
At the Plaza on Wednesday afternoon, when there was a steady rain, Kevin Thornton, 63, a black man working at a nearby hotel, asked what the mayor wanted to achieve by handing something to Trump.
“You can kiss the ring all day,” he said, “Nothing is available. He believed that Bowser had shown strength in 2020 when he first ordered the mural. “I thought there was a backbone,” he said.
Still, Jones, an artist who helped paint the mural five years ago, said he understands the mayor's difficult position and has put the city in many crises. Jones said he was grateful for his involvement in creating Black Lives Matter Plaza, even if it disappeared soon.
“As a black woman, I'm used to the feeling that things are being taken away and erased from our history,” Jones said. “It's a moment. You can't take it away. I think the whole world felt the moment and recognized it. I think when it was taken away, they'll feel the moment too.”
Clyde McGrady, Tyler Pager and Darren Sands Reports of contributions.
