A bright yellow mural declaring “BLACK LIVES MATTER” has been permanently painted on the main roadway leading to the White House, and work to redesign the surrounding street to accommodate a pedestrian gathering space is also complete. 

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had the original mural painted in June 2020. She renamed the two-block stretch of 16th Street NW to Black Lives Matter Plaza, days after federal law enforcement officers violently shoved and fired tear gas at demonstrators protesting police brutality. 

“We sent a strong message that Black Lives Matter, and that power has always been and always will be with well-meaning people,” Bowser said in a press release. “Today, we have transformed the mural into a monument.” 

The city started work on the new streetscape and permanent mural, which is the centerpiece of Black Lives Matter Plaza, in July. The art installation is now surrounded by one northbound and one southbound lane of traffic. A pedestrian walkway cuts through the center of the plaza. 

The project cost $4.8 million, Bowser said. D.C. is expected to spend another $3 million to reconstruct nearby sidewalks as well as add new benches, lighting, signs and trees. 

Protesters converged on the plaza throughout the summer of 2020. The site grew in importance as demonstrations against police brutality intensified.

Bowser’s decision to have the street painted was widely interpreted as a rebuke to President Trump, garnering the mayor national attention and inspiring similar installations around the country. 

The mural is both a source of intense pride and a target of criticism for D.C. residents. 

Local activists have decried the mural as performative and used it to draw attention to Bowser’s policies around policing. 

But for many others, it is a powerful and welcome symbol.

“It has created a place of hope,” said Keyonna Jones, one of eight artists commissioned to paint the mural, in 2020. “A place of healing.”

Previously:
D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Mural Is Gone. The City Plans On Bringing It Back — With New Traffic Lanes
What Does D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza Mean To Locals?
The Standoff Over D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Mural, Illustrated