D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza Is No More

By: Miriam Edelman

D.C.’s landmark Black Lives Matter (BLM) Plaza no longer exists. U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA), a D.C. critic, was true to his word, introducing a bill to abolish D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza (BLM Plaza). As was discussed in DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “D.C. Opponent Representative Clyde Attacked Home Rule and Black Lives Matter Plaza,” Clyde intended to introduce a bill that would end D.C.’s BLM Plaza. After Clyde introduced his bill, the D.C. government removed BLM Plaza. DCNOW’s blog post, entitled “When President-Elect Donald Trump Sent Federal Law Enforcement onto D.C.’s Streets, Black Lives Matter Plaza was Created,” describes the founding and history of this symbol of D.C. autonomy. Trump was President when Black Lives Matter Plaza was created in 2020.

Some Republican Members of Congress wanted to rename BLM Plaza. As DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “U.S. House of Representatives Interferes with Local Washington, D.C., Affairs (2023: Year in Review)” stated, “Some Members of Congress have demanded that D.C.’s Mayor rename Black Lives Matter Plaza, a symbol of our local autonomy since it was created in 2020.” On October 23, 2023, 25 Members of Congress wrote a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser urging her “to immediately rename “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and remove the street painting that reads “Black Lives Matter” due to that movement’s celebration of violent antisemitic terrorism.” Interestingly, Clyde did not sign onto the letter. At that time, Bowser said:

What they should know is that is a public art piece. Artists rendered it, artists painted it and Jews and Gentiles were there to support it. And it's not linked to any particular group or person, but it is an expression of, I think, what our city felt and continues to feel.

She also said that D.C. intends to put up signs explaining BLM Plaza. In addition, Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and August Pfluger (R-TX) both tried to defund signage for BLM Plaza via D.C. appropriations amendments.

On March 1, 2025, the New York Post published an article, entitled “House Republicans looking to nix Washington’s Black Lives Matter Plaza.” This piece, which referred to BLM Plaza as “the two-block woke eyesore,” quoted House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) saying:

The House Oversight Committee and the Trump Administration are working on delivering a number of reforms to make our nation’s capital safe and end left-wing pet projects. This includes addressing partisan abuses by the District government such as Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The Committee is one of the main Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the nation’s capital.

H.R. 1774

On March 3, 2025, Clyde introduced H.R.1774 – “To amend title 23, United States Code, to withhold certain apportionment funds from the District of Columbia unless the Mayor of the District of Columbia removes the phrase Black Lives Matter from the street symbolically designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza, redesignates such street as Liberty Plaza, and removes such phrase from each website, document, and other material under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia.” The bill, the first stand-alone legislation that would try to end BLM Plaza, has zero cosponsors.

The bill’s section about withholding of money to D.C. is:

Withholding of funds for noncompliance.—The Secretary shall withhold 50 percent of the amount required to be apportioned to the District of Columbia under section 104(b) on the first day of each fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this section in which the Mayor of the District of Columbia has not complied with the requirements of subsection (b).

On March 3^rd, Clyde’s office posted a press release, entitled “Rep. Clyde Unveils Bill to Rename D.C.’s BLM Plaza.” It quoted Clyde:

President Trump is 100% right: we must clean up Washington, D.C. for the American people.

I believe that removing BLM Plaza must be part of this critical effort. After all, BLM is a radical, defund the police organization — but we are not a defund the police nation. Yet the Left has allowed this deeply divisive slogan to shamefully stain the streets of America’s capital city for nearly five years. It’s past time for Congress to exercise its constitutional authority over Washington’s affairs to remove BLM Plaza and rename the street to Liberty Plaza. Our capital city must serve as a beacon of freedom, patriotism, and safety — not wokeness, divisiveness, and lawlessness.

The press release linked to a Breitbart piece, entitled “Exclusive — ‘We Are Not a Defund the Police Nation’: Rep. Andrew Clyde Intros Bill to Rename D.C.’s BLM Plaza as Liberty Plaza.” The article had the following quotation (It is not completely clear if the quotation came from Clyde): “BLM is a radical, defund the police organization — but we are not a defund the police nation. Yet the Left has allowed this deeply divisive slogan to shamefully stain the streets of America’s capital city for nearly five years.”

On March 3, 2025, on X, Clyde posted:

The BLM movement was nothing but corruption and division.

It’s time for our nation to leave this failed agenda behind—starting with the removal of the BLM Plaza from America’s capital.

According to a 51^st.news article, “Clyde's bill is part of a broader message Republicans have been sending D.C. since they took control in January: We can take over the city, if we want to.”

D.C.’s Response

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who opposes Congressional attempts to name streets in D.C., stated his desire for Congress to work on real issues. He said, “Instead of members of Congress expending energy on symbols, we need them to be real about real problems.”

On March 5^th, D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser posted the following statement:

We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight wards. 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 [sic.] 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.

That statement indicated that Black Lives Matter may be painted over. Thus, seemingly again, D.C. may be succumbing to Congressional pressure. Bowser’s statement was a shift from what she said after Trump won reelection in 2024. When she was asked what she would do if Trump wanted her to end BLM Plaza, Bowser said, “It’s public art, so I don’t want to get into a back and forth with you about a conversation we haven’t had yet.” It is a marked a change of position from the Bowser Administration’s reference to BLM Plaza in 2021 as a “permanent monument.”

Bowser said “We have bigger fish to fry than fights over what has been very important to us [BLM Plaza] and to the history, and especially in our ability to keep our city safe during that time, that mural played a very important part” and “But now our focus is on making sure our residents and our economy survives.” Sometime, she also said, “We go into a budget season where our revenue was estimated to be down by a billion dollars and we still have the threat of Medicaid cuts looming. That’s what D.C. residents want me to be focused on.” On March 3, 2025, the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported that

Local revenues are expected to decline by more than $1 billion over the next three years compared to previous estimates, largely due to federal layoffs steep enough to throw DC into a mild recession, according to the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) new revenue forecast.

According to The New York Times, Bowser said the decision about BLM Plaza had been made a while ago and that she was set to announce it later in March 2025. The Times also reported that Bowser did not state whether this decision was because of certain Congressional or White House actions or threats. However, NBCWashington reported, “Bowser was candid that her decision to paint over Black Lives Matter Plaza came after talks with the White House.”

NBCWashington.com reported that Bowser does not want to rename BLM Plaza – Liberty Plaza. Bowser said, “We expect to have a discussion, a citywide discussion, about how we will honor the nation's semiquincentennial, and we expect it to be a part of that discussion, but we don't support the congressman's [Clyde’s] bill.”

Clyde was happy with Bowser’s decision. He said:

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.

D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau spoke out. On March 5^th, on X, she wrote the following regarding Bowser’s statement:

History has shown that giving in to bullies emboldens them for bigger attacks. Congress has been threatening to take away our funding since the start of Home Rule 50 years ago. We have always fought back. Let's not give up the fight before it’s even started.

Keyonna Jones, who helped paint BLM Plaza, agreed with Bowser, saying “I get where she [Bowser] is coming from.” She said “I think it’s a pretty sensible decision.” She added, “There’s a lot of things that need to take priority: a lot of people losing their jobs, a lot of resources the city may lose.” However, Jones was also upset about the news. She also remarked “Being a Black woman, I’m kind of used to the feeling of things being taken away and being erased from our history” and “It’s a moment in time. You cannot take it away. I think the whole world felt that moment, recognized that moment. I think they are going to feel this moment too, when it’s taken away.” Jones recognized BLM Plaza’s impact, saying that BLM Plaza “speaks for itself. People traveled the world to see this."

People for the American Way’s Markus Batchelor was critical of Bowser. While he understood Bowsers’ choosing her battles, he felt that D.C.’s leaders should “draw our line in the sand” even with seemingly symbolic issues. He also said, “If we let those little insults go, we set ourselves up for a slippery slope.” He added about Bowser:

She needs to be more forceful in our defense. We’re not only the capital city, but a city of communities, and Donald Trump — at least on murals and on the ground — doesn’t get to decide. It’s important for her to say she’s insulted by it because we are.

Meanwhile, Free DC was displeased with Bowser’s decision. On X, it wrote “One of the things we talk about a lot in our organizing is the importance of not obeying in advance🧵”

Free DC co-founder Alex Dodds, critiqued Bowser, saying “We need leaders right now who recognize that complying in advance does not make us safer,” Dodds also remarked that Clyde’s bill is trying to “intimidate” D.C. and stated “Clyde is threatening to hold federal funds hostage if he doesn’t get what he wants, and that’s not about a street — that’s about making an entire city feel fearful. It’s up to all of us right now to loudly reject this.”

Angela Harrelson, an aunt of George Floyd (whose murder led to BLM Plaza), was upset. She said, “I would never understand why she’s doing it.” This Minnesota resident added, “They can make up all the excuses that they want to about this. The message they are sending is still the same: You are trying to destroy history, you are trying to erase a memory.”

The BLM Plaza remained a D.C. gathering point. As Trump was set to speak to a joint session of Congress earlier this year, hundreds went to BLM Plaza. They had signs and flags. A speaker said, “No matter what the Congress says, if you’re claiming this land now and forever as Black Lives Matter Plaza, let me hear you make some noise.” Another person said of Bowser, “We need politicians like her to do something. Stand up for this space she supposedly created for Black people.”

Destruction of BLM Plaza was expected to take at least six weeks. It was supposed to cost $610,000.

On March 9^th, members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, an African-American fraternity, came to BLM Plaza to honor this landmark. They sung “Life Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem. Fraternity member Richard Mattox said “This will always be, because Black lives matter,” “We’re not protesting,” and “We recognize the meaning. We recognize why it has to be done. We support the local officials, but we want it to be known: You can erase this, but you cannot erase our history.”

Removal of BLM Plaza

On March 10^th, local D.C. officials started to remove BLM Plaza. Removal of letters and cobblestones happened. Then, the street was set to be paved in asphalt. Work began at K Street and was set to continue south in the direction of the White House.

During the evening of March 10^th, on Truth Social, Trump posted what appears to be a brief video of the BLM Plaza work. Interestingly, he did not write anything.

As of April 1^st, BLM Plaza is no more. All the letters and BLM Plaza signs are gone.

Final Thoughts

Let’s always remember BLM Plaza as a landmark of D.C. autonomy and, as 51stnews reported “a call for D.C. statehood.” BLM Plaza may be removed, but it will always be part of history. As Jones said, “It’s a time in history that can’t be taken away” and “[t]hat’s the great thing about art. You can always create again.”