If you’ve been watching the news, you know about the death of George Floyd. You know that his death, with the agonizing minutes leading up to it caught on video, sent shockwaves through the country. It has lead to protests that many hope will change the face of the United States forever. For instance, Mayor Muriel Bowser has made a gesture–but what is the significance?
Black Lives Matter Plaza
On Friday, June 5th, 2020–almost two weeks after the May 25th death of George Floyd, Mayor Bowser took to Twitter. “The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza,’” she declared. The Department of Public Works painted “Black Lives Matter,” in large yellow font on the street. Videos quickly made their way onto Twitter. In a press conference that day, the mayor said
There’s a lot of anger. There’s a lot of distrust of police in the government. There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen and to have their humanity recognized. And we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city. That message is to the American people that black lives matter, black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up.
(1, 2)
#BLM
The use of “Black Lives Matter” as a rallying cry has distressed many people on the internet. Racists, preying on the ignorant, have tried to pretend that the slogan means only Black lives matter, instead of Black lives matter, too. Such criticisms are akin to someone bursting into a colon cancer fundraiser, screaming that breast cancer matters, or a neighbor complaining that the fire department is focusing too much on her neighbor’s burning house, and not enough on her perfectly intact one. Sure, all lives do matter–but not all lives are just as likely to end in 8 minutes, 46 seconds of excruciating struggle to breathe under the knee-to-the-neck of a police officer. All this over an allegedly counterfeit $20. (3)
The Letter and BLM DC
Mayor Bowser posted a letter on Twitter, on June 5th as well, addressed to Donald Trump. In it, she asked him to “withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” from Washington. “The protestors have been peaceful, and last night, the Metropolitan Police Department did not make a single arrest,” she writes. “These additional, unidentified units are operating outside of established chains of command,” and are using “a war-like tactic to frighten and disperse peaceful protestors.”
Black Lives Matter’s DC chapter was unimpressed. They tweeted that the renaming was a “performative distraction from real policy changes.”
“Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history,” they continued. “This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.”
For those unfamiliar with Bowser’s policies, Twitter-verified user, Alexis Goldstein (@alexisgoldstein) tweeted that “@MayorBowser proposed raising MPD’s budget by $18.5 million while simultaneously slashing the Housing Trust Fund by $16 million.” Condemning this financial strategy, especially during protests, Goldstein added: “Her budget speaks more than Street paintings.” (4, 5, 6)
