Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 10 November 2020
Protest signs and posters on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, located on the north side of Lafayette Park in Washington D.C.
Multiple posters read “GTFO” “Pack Your Bags!” “Black Lives Matter” “Respect Indigenous Rights” “Divest From Corporate [illegible]-colonies” “Protect Black Womxn” “You’re Fired” “Dump Trump" “#BLACKVotersMatter #BlackVOTERSMatter#BlackVotersMATTER” (which are colored in gold, white and red respectively) “Jesus Wasn’t White” “Justice for DeonKay” Super CALLOUS Fragile Racist Sexist FORMER Potus! Bye Don” “We Need Justice” “Welcome Joe and Kamala Biden 2020” “’All Lives Can’t Matter Until Black Lives Matter.” There is a poster that reads “Black Lives Matter” and it is over an image of the American flag.
There is an image from a TV show that shows an actor speaking which reads “And that’s when I said, ‘No, Mr. Trump You’re fired!’”
A poster reads “’Raise A Glass To Freedom Something They Can Never Take Away.’” There are two champagne glasses drawn on the poster and the words “Freedom” and “Never Take Away” are highlighted in red with the rest of the statement written in blue.
There is a list of names of victims of police brutality on cardboard and reads “Say Their Names [;] Deborah Danner 1950 – 2016 Tamir Rice 2002 – 2014 Pearlie Golden 1921 – 2014 George Floyd 1974 – 2020 Sandra Bland 1987 – 2015 Freddie Gray 1989 – 2015 Kathryn Johnston 1914 – 2006 Sean Bell 1983 – 2006 Rekia Boyd 1989 – 2012 Stephon Clark 1995 – 2018”
The Black Lives Matter Memorial fence was a temporary chainlink fence installed in the area north of Lafayette Park and the White House from June 2, 2020, until January 30, 2021. The fence prevented public access to the area, and it also served as an important site of protest and self-expression.
Activist Nadine Seiler played a crucial role in protecting and caring for the fence, along with Karen Irwin and other activists in a loosely-formed group informally known as the "Guardians of the Fence." Nadine Seiler and Aliza Leventhal systematically documented the fence over the course of months, and Seiler became the de facto curator of the fence.
Additional information:
Library of Congress blog post "Protest Preserved: Signs from D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence"
D.C. Public Library Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection”
Urban Art Mapping
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-11-10">2020-11-10</a>
MM
Photographer: Aliza Leventhal
H Street NW and 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., USA
Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 10 October 2020
Protest signs and posters on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, located on the north side of Lafayette Park in Washington D.C.
There is a diorama of the white house that is behind a fence and two soldiers on top of it. Underneath the ‘White House’ is a bunker baby and there is a bush next to this figure of a baby. On the base of the diorama reads "2020 Fearless Girls"
There is a sticker on a light post that has four black power fists on it. It is separated into fours by a white cross and it reads “White silence is violence.” Three of the squares are black with a white fist and the bottom left corner is a white square with a larger black fist in it.
There is a small gold statuette of three figures who are Sally Hemmings with one of her children in chains and Thomas Jefferson next to her. The statuette reads “Sally Hemmings, Thomas Jefferson’s slave, bore five of his children. One died, two escaped and two were freed in Jefferson’s will. Sally was never freed.” There is a yellow and pink rose underneath it. Next to this is a purple painted canvas that reads “Black Lives Matter” and it is underlined.
There are four posters that are on plywood, and they have a stylized portrait of Snoop Dogg’s and the posters read “I’m Voting Because I Want To End Police Brutality” or “I’m Voting This Election For The First Time Because I Can’t Stand To See This Punk In Office Another Year.”
There are multiple posters that read “You’re Lucky Black People want Equality not Revenge,” stop Erdogan Stop WAR,” “Jacob Black Is Still Alive [;] His life should NEVER have been in danger,” “#NationinDistress #JacobBlane #NativeLivesMatter #DumpTrump #FuckthePolice #DemilitarizethePolice #Antifa #BLMSolidarity # #NoJusticeNoPeace #KnowJusticeKnowPeace #RulesofEngagement #EscalationofForce Respect our Existence or Expect our Resistance,” “No Justice” [This has caution tape on the poster] “BLM” “Say Their Names,” and “Justice for Breonna.”
There is a cardboard poster that has the black power fist drawn on it and a tapestry that has the image of a church which is the Church of the Redeemer, Presbyterian. This poster reads “Black Lives Matter” “Church of the Redeemer, presbyterian Washington, DC” “A congregation with a civil rights legacy.”
There is a black poster that reads “Say Her Name” and this has many trans women’s names on it who have been a victim to police brutality. Another poster above this reads “Black Lives Matter” “Say Their Names” and has the following names written on it: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rekia Boyd, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, India Kager, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castille, and Tarika Wilson.
There is a poster that has a portrait of Hitler on it with blood splatters behind his head and a red “X” crossing out his face. Under his face reads “Stop the War.
There is a cardboard poster that reads “Racism Is Small Dick Energy” underneath this is a black skateboard without wheels, and it reads “Andy Roy” [a professional skateboarder] “Bad Geese” with an image of Woody Woodpecker and it's heavily used.
Protest signs and posters on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, located on the north side of Lafayette Park in Washington D.C.” Afterward, describe the selected images for the entry.
Source: The Black Lives Matter Memorial fence was a temporary chainlink fence installed in the area north of Lafayette Park and the White House from June 2, 2020, until January 30, 2021. The fence prevented public access to the area, and it also served as an important site of protest and self-expression.
Activist Nadine Seiler played a crucial role in protecting and caring for the fence, along with Karen Irwin and other activists in a loosely-formed group informally known as the "Guardians of the Fence." Nadine Seiler and Aliza Leventhal systematically documented the fence over the course of months, and Seiler became the de facto curator of the fence.
Additional information:
Library of Congress blog post "Protest Preserved: Signs from D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence"
D.C. Public Library Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection”
Urban Art Mapping
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-10-10">2020-10-10</a>
MM
Photographer: Aliza Leventhal
H Street NW and 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., USA
Black Girls Deserve Better
Plywood over two windows, painted a light pink. The left panel has the words "BLACK GIRLS DESERVE BETTER" in black bold lettering. Interspersed with the lettering are red flowers and green leaves. At the bottom, the artist's handle "GAIA.XYZ" is in pink letters outlined in black on the left, on the bottom right is the date "June 5 2020" in small fine print.
The right panel has names of Black females murdered by the police in bold pink lettering. From top to bottom "TANISHA ANDERSON REKIA BOYD KORRYN GAINES AIYANA JONES BREONNA TAYLOR & TOO MANY MORE" Underneath the names is a hashtag in black lettering "#SAYHERNAME". At the bottom, the artist's handle " by GAIA.XYZ" is in pink letters on the left, on the bottom right is the date "June 5 2020" in small fine print.
Gaia Weise
Urban Art Mapping
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-06">2020-06-06</a>
MR
Creator: Gaia Weise (@gaiaw.xyz)
UAM-GF_2177
14th St & Broadway, Oakland, CA, USA
Say Their Names, 2011-2012 | Bringing Back Bowery
The eye is immediately drawn to the rightmost edge of the plywood panel, where two large brown eyes emerge from a vivd red background. Underneath the eyes, budding trees are surrounded by discarded guns pointing upwards toward the sky.
In the center of the work, a quotation emerges from the unpainted plywood. The quote reads: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - MLK #bemighty." Underneath the quote, to the left of the trees, a list of names emerges from a field of flowers. Outlined in green paint, a quick glance could lead the names to be mistaken as part of the greenery that blooms in the red.
The names are not all clear, but include: Nehemiah Dillard, 2012; Melvin Lawhorn, 2012; Marquez Smart, 2012; Michael Lembard, 2012; Tendai Mhekaira, 2012; Stephan Watts, 2012; Rekia Boyd, 2012; Johnnie Kamahi Warren, 2012; Malik Williams, 2011.
The names listed are all of Black individuals murdered by police officers in the years listed beside their names. This list is not a conclusive list of all Black people murdered in 2011-2012 by police.
Sally Young
Posted by @Bringing_Back_Bowery on Instagram. Caption: "Amazing mural by @sallysonegun at the Bowery Bar and Grill"
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-22">2020-06-22</a>
F.S.
Artist: Sally Young
Image: @Bringing_Back_Bowery on Instagram
40 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003