Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 24 August 2020

Title

Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 24 August 2020

Coverage

H Street NW and 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, USA

Description

Protest signs and posters on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, located on the north side of Lafayette Park in Washington D.C.

One of the signs reads "'Our lives begin to END the day we become silent about things that MATTER' -Martin Luther King, Jr." Around the quote are names of murdered Black individuals.

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

Rights

Photographer: Aliza Leventhal

Publisher

Urban Art Mapping

Date

2020-08-24

Contributor

LA

Identifier

UAM-GF_3677