Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 12 October 2020

- Title
- Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 12 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.
There is a landscape shot of the fence with the Washington Monument in the background.
There is a pink poster with blue writing that reads “I will make the world better for my children” then in the bottom written additionally reads “Yes Yes Yes!”
Above this is a sticker that looks like the American flag and reads “Fight for an America where: Black Lives Matter; No Human is Illegal; Justice is Blind; Everyone is an Anti0Fascist & We Don’t Cage Kids; Voting is a Right and The Mail Isn’t Political’ Love is Love; Science is Real; Racism is Wrong; Defend America = Protesting is Patriotism”
A poster reads “Black Trans Lives Matter” which is over the colors of a trans flag which are blue, pink, and white. Then a small piece of black fabric reads “Every Black Life Matters www.everyBLM.org” There is a picture of Jacqueline Salyers and it reads “Rest in Power”
A purple poster that reads “No Justice No Peace” has writing all over it as additions to the original poster. There are writings that read “Justice & Peace” “What we ask the universe we shall receive” “We need” and “Ask for” have both been circles and there are arrows drawn to point to the words “Justice” and “Peace”
There is a wet cardboard poster that reads “Real eyes Realize Real lies” and in blue on the same poster reads “Vote Him Out” and at the bottom reads “#Vote4Corona2020DrainTHEswamp.”
Another poster reads “All Black Lives Matter” which is written multiple times at the top and then in large letters reads “BLACK” and there are different ‘categories’ next to it to read “Black Trans; Black Women; Black Queer; Black Disabled; Black Lives Matter” And at the bottom of the poster reads “White Silence is violence!” With “is” painted red. - 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
Images are collected in this archive for educational purposes and are not intended for commercial use. Reproduction rights for all images remain with the creators/photographers when we are able to identify them.
We seek to identify artistic creators when they want to be identified, and we respect their rights to protect their identity should they choose to remain anonymous. Please contact us if you are the creator of work in this archive and you wish to be identified or if you wish for your work to be removed from the archive. - Publisher
- Urban Art Mapping
- Date
- 2020-10-12
- Contributor
- MM
- Identifier
- UAM-GF_3722