Mayor Bowser also requested Trump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military personnel from the city.
The road has been a popular place for demonstrators to protest, and now, according to Bowser, it’s a commemorative area to honor protesters and the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and everyone who has lost their lives to police brutality and white supremacy.
“There was a dispute this week about whose street this is,” John Falcicchio, chief of staff for Bowser, wrote in a tweet. “Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC’s street and to honor demonstrators who (were) peacefully protesting on Monday evening.”
Washington, D.C., officials painted ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’ in 35-foot-tall letters on the street just blocks from the White House pic.twitter.com/uZihm364aT
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 5, 2020
The painting and street renaming come just days after Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Park Police and National Guard to forcefully remove and tear gas demonstrators who were peacefully protesting outside the White House. The crowd dispersed so the president could walk out of the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo-op.
Bowser also sent a letter addressed to Trump on Thursday requesting he withdraw “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C.” now that she has ended the state of emergency for the city.
Source/ BET