The Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, wanted to remind Trump that Black Lives Matter, so she had it painted on the street in giant letters over two city blocks leading up to the White House. It stops just short of the church which the POTUS used as a promotional prop when he had troops, parks officers, secret service and unmarked corrections officers tear gas peaceful demonstrators as well as clergy and parishioners so he could have his picture taken in front of the church with a bible in hand. The street was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza NW.
Trump has finally built himself a wall by adding high chain link fencing all around the white house and expanding that perimeter to include Lafayette Park. He has walled himself in from the rest of the country who are up in arms about racial injustice. Secret service moved the president into a bunker below the white house on the first evening of protests where fire were set around the city. The president claims he was only inspecting the bunker.
Muriel did not approve of Trumps moving troops into her city as a show of force against protestors against police violence against black Americans. The Pentagon confirmed that approximately 1,600 active-duty troops from North Carolina and New York were flown into the D.C. area. Police forces and National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.
“The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans. Furthermore, I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. pose both safety and national security risks,” the the mayor added. Trump responded with nonconstructive and hateful tweets. No surprise there.
Seeing the mayors Black Lives Matter street mural made me smile for the first time in days. She knows that art can make an impact. Pentagon Defense Secretary Mark Esper flip flopped several times caving to Trumps demand for troops but ultimately ordered several hundred troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return home to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Protests are still going on around the country but some tensions have eased since the officers responsible for the murder of George Loyd are now under arrest. However videos are surfacing every day of police brutality towards peaceful protestors and journalists. Change is needed.