Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 21 October 2020
- Title
- Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 21 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 cardboard poster behind the fence which reads “America wants PEACE” and there are two printed peace hand signs that are on either side of the statement.
There is a large sticker that is on the bottom of a gray light post of a black and white stylized photograph of Donald Trump that is on a trash bag. The bottom of the sticker reads “#TRASHTRUMP” and “TRASHTRUMP.COM”
There are three small stones that have been painted and each read different thing. One stone is painted red and has white letters that reads “There can be no love w/o Justice”. The one to the right of it is painted black and the words reads “Be STONE” with “Be” painted white and “stone” painted blue. The last rock is painted blue with white clouds, then yellow and then green which reads “you stand on stolen land No One [sic] is illegal here,” where “you stand on stolen land” is in the top part of the rock which is the sky, “No One” is in the yellow section and “is illegal here” is in the green section of the rock.
Then there is just the brim of a red hat, and the base part of the hat looks to have been burned off.
There is a sticker of an egg yolk that has a minimalist caricature of Donald Trump’s face on it which is on a black background.
There are multiple cardboard posters that read “Stop Murdering Black People”, “Do the Right Thing” “Stop Ice!” “ACAB Only good pig is a DEAD pig!” “Don’t force your Dick on U.S.a [sic]” “None of this is Normal Stop the Gaslighting” “The Biggest gang in every city is the police #ORGANIZEORDIE Black Power Matters Fuck 12” “Enough is Enough” AmeriKKKa” “#SayHerName” Without That Badge you’re a Bitch and a half. (ACAB).”
There is a white mask that reads “I matter.”
There is a poster that reads “Do the Right Thing!” That is colored in blue and red letters and has the black fist sign next to it.
There is a drawn portrait of Breonna Taylor with a crown on her head, and it reads “Justice for Queen Breonna.”
There are multiple photographs of those who have lost their life to police brutality. On the top of the photographs reads “Rest in Power.” Those that are able to be read are “Michael Ealy” “Aaron Roberts” “Cornelius Fredrick May 1, 2020” and “Sald Joaquin”. There is a white poster which 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 is a painting of Trayvon Martin as a portrait and it reads “Trayvon.” - 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
- 2020-10-21
- Contributor
- MM
- Identifier
- UAM-GF_3731
Files
Collection
Citation
“Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 21 October 2020,” George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art , accessed May 15, 2025, https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3731.