Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 01 October 2020

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Title

Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 01 October 2020

Coverage

H Street NW and 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., 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.” Afterward, describe the selected images for the entry.

There are papers that are slightly ripped and reads "No Vote is no Representation...Vote". Underneath this is a paper that reads "Demand DC's Core Four: 1. Police-Free DC Schools 2. End Qualified Immunity 3. Establish A New DC Public Safety Department 4. Make Election Days a DC Holiday". To the right of this paper is a drawing of a raised fist and the silhouettes of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising the Black Power Salute from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

There is a far away shot of a section of the BLM memorial fence that has the Washington Monument in the background.

There is a cardboard sign that reads "Sandra, your Naperville family will always say your name", underneath this sign is one that reads "WEEP With Those Who WEEP" and a sticker with the USPS symbol on it reads "United We Riot". There are multiple pictures of Black Americans who lost their lives to police brutality and multiple posters next to these photographs which read "Black Lives Matter", "No Justice No Fourth", and "#BlackVotersMatter.

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

Contributor

MM

Geolocation

Comments

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