Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 13 October 2020
- Title
- Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 13 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 close up shot of a wet cardboard poster that reads “There’s no such thing as neutral education. It is a tool of conformity or freedom. - Paulo Freire”
There is a white board that reads “Donald Trump is a white SPREMACIST” and surrounding the board are photographs of victims to police brutality and they read “Rest in Power”. Some of the victims are Michael Ealy, Henry Lee Sr., Demarcus Semer, and Malik Williams.
A poster reads “Being Black in America is Exhausting. Y'all want us to Sing, Dance, Play Football, Shoot Basketball, Be Target Practice and be QUIET. Signed, An Exhausted Black Folk”.
There is a flag that has the trans flag on it, which is blue, pink and white and it reads “Black Trans Lives Matter.” On the ground is a poster that has the word “Bigotry” written over and over on it and then a large red ‘stamp’ that reads “IMPEACH”over the words. Next to this is a cardboard poster that reads “Do the Right Thing!” and has the black power fist taped on the cardboard poster. Another cardboard poster reads “The BIGGEST Gang in Every City is the Police [;] #ORGANIZEORDIE [;] Black Power Matters [;] Fuck 12.” Then another poster reads “David ‘BBQ Man’ McAtee, 53 YO Louisville, KY Chef Community Pillar Killed by the same police he’s fed for free June 1st, 2020.”
There are posters that reads “Destiny” “DAMF” “Blue Lies Matter” “Black Lives Matter”
Stickers are on an old tow away poster and the stickers reads ‘Fuck Trump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain” and it looks like a campaign poster. Another sticker reads “DIRTS Win” with “Dirts” in a blue text and “win” on top of the text. There is a sticker that has a silhouette of Trump’s head and under it reads “Injustice” on an orange background.
There is a cardboard poster of the monopoly man that is holding a police officer and it reads “Black Lives Matter R.I.P. George Floyd Breonna Taylor Atatiana Jefferson Freddie Gray” it further has “marcmoneyart.com” and “@marcmoneyart”.
There is a painted portraited of Trayvon Martin that reads “Trayvon.”
There is a painted portrait of Vanessa Guillén with the Mexican flag behind her (green, white, and red) that reads “Not one more.” Another poster reads “Silence is Betrayal”, “fuck racism”
There is an orange hazard cone in from of the fence next to a poster that reads “FREEdom is not FREE, except for those Tax Cheats who are…FREEly allowed to not pay taxes!!! They still [illegible] public services that are paid by TAX PAYER funds. These Billionaires are the TOP of the ENTITLEMENT CLASS.” - 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
- 2020-10-13
- Contributor
- MM
- Identifier
- UAM-GF_3723
Files
Collection
Citation
“Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 13 October 2020,” George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art , accessed January 17, 2026, https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3723.