The twelfth day of protests in D.C. was slow. There weren’t many sustained chants for the most part, and only a couple of marches came through. But Black Lives Matter Plaza was still blocked off by law enforcement, and hundreds of protesters came in and out throughout the day. This section of 16th Street, it seems, is turning into a home base, for now, a place where protesters can eat and sing and drum and dance.
“Right now I feel like it’s a community. Even though it’s not a lot of people, it still feels like this is a D.C. community,” Avril Gray, 23, said. “This is how it’s supposed to be. Helping each other, feeding, giving water, hand sanitizer, everybody just looking out for each other.”
People spent the day taking photos by the new Black Lives Matter Plaza sign, taking in the protest art on the fence blocking off Lafayette Square, and listening to music. A couple of marches came down 16th Street NW and dissipated once they reached H Street NW.
Vendors have also lined 16th Street, selling black lives matter T-shirts, masks, and other paraphernalia. Buddy Abdul-Maleek, who has been selling t-shirts for over 40 years, has now set up shop for a week and says business has been great. He starts his day around 9 am, and doesn’t leave till after 8 p.m. “As long as people are spending money, I will be here,” he said, adding that he could potentially stay till August.
And though Tuesday’s crowd was small relative to the weekend peak, people weren’t starting to lose hope just yet. “I’m not really disheartened yet by people spacing out,” Maria Nwanze, 24, said. “I understand sometimes the passion dwindles over time, but I still think people are gonna continue to come out on the weekends. I saw on my Instagram, I’ve seen a lot of people rallying for this upcoming weekend.”
Nwanze explained that these protests can take an emotional toll on people, especially black people. “I feel pretty empowered,” she said. “It’s intense, especially for black people. It can be overwhelming if we don’t take the breaks necessary.”
Tuesday also saw newcomers. Christian Stevenson, a D.C.-native who just graduated from Albert Einstein High School, came down to Black Lives Matter Plaza for the first time to celebrate in his cap and gown. The crowd cheered for him as he posed for photos. “I see this — everyone coming together doing this amazing thing. It’s fantastic,” he said. “[I’m] very inspired. This is a long time coming honestly … Everyone wants equality in America, everyone wants America to change. People are tired, we are tired, we want this to be a better place.”
Debo Ojo, 30, also joined the protests for the first time, saying that he missed the first week because he didn’t want to get agitated by law-enforcement. “I’m happy to see that there’s not just black people here. There’s white people here to support and show their love for the black movement. So I’m very happy to see this,” he said. ”Hopefully this can bring out the revolution or change to our nation.” From now on, he plans to keep coming out whenever he can make it.
Even though participation waned, the mood at the protest was similar to the weekend: jubilant and celebratory at times, but focused on the issues of the protest. As the sun went down, the small crowds kept the energy alive. A band called Drumline Elite played for people while they chanted things like, “Black Lives Matter.” And later in the evening, a person played Michael Jackson songs on the trombone for people to dance to. Occasionally, a chant would break out.
Military and law-enforcement agencies have continued to de-escalate their presence around the White House protests. MPD cars could be seen only on the perimeter, where they were blocking off the streets. Military personnel and equipment like Humvees could still be seen during the day, but were dramatically less visible than last week.
It’s unclear whether the protests will continue to get smaller, or if people are just taking a break. Everyone DCist spoke with on Tuesday said that they’re planning on coming back as long as they need to.
