Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 23 October 2020
- Title
- Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 23 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 laminated paper that was written by Elisheva Wyns (9 years old) and it reads “Wy[sic] is ther [sic] so much hate? PePole [sic] should not be shamd [sic] of the way ther [sic] skin coler [sic] is, they should be proud of is [sic]! We need to Love each other, as the Bible says (Love your naber [sic] as your self). We neeb [sic] to love each othe [sic] okay! Blak [sic] Lives Matter! You got that! Pray that PePole [sic] Who hate Black PePole [sic] will soon love Will stop hateing [sic] them.” Here is a drawing of two hands where the palms are facing each other representing a black hand and a white hand and they are encapsulated by a pink heart. Next to this is a raindrop with a face that is depicted as saying “Come to gether [sic]!” And a heart under this in a speech bubble.
There is an outline of a peace sign that is made up of string and there are strips of fabric that are tied around the peace sign with names of those who have lost their lives to police brutality and others that reads “Black Lives Matter.” A deflated balloon is attached to the fence and above this is a sign that reads “Their Lives Mattered.” A smaller cardboard poster reads “Don’t HOLD your VOTE… We said: Black Lives Matter, We know: All Lives Matter, Never said: Only Black Lives Matter, But if you Hold your Vote: None of [illegible] Matters.” With the writing on this poster being faded out.
A white poster that reads “No Barrett, No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA, Fuck Your White Supremacy.” The last statement is written with white ink and has a black background to contrast with the white of the poster. Underneath this is a picture of the white house that is taped onto the poster.
There are multiple posters that read “Honor Her Dying Wish MotherFucker”, “McConell: Relief to People in need, Not Black Checks to Billionaires”, “Vote Bunker Baby OUT” www.subversiveware.com your hatred Racial Slurs and Ignorance do NOT define me... “#Nation in Distress #JacobBlane #NativeLivesMatter #DumpTrump #fuckthe Police #DemilitarizethePolice #Antifa #BLMSolidarity # #NoJusticeNoPeace #KnowJusticeKnowPeace #Rules of Engagement #EscalationofForce Respect our Existence or Expect our Resistance.” There is a red poster that reads “WHAT CAN I DO? Donate, act, and (please) VOTE” which is on a red posterboard. There is a deflated balloon of Trump which is on a poster and It reads “#BabyGate” then has makeshift bars that read “Bunker Baby” that are on the balloon.
There was a silhouette of Donald Trump that is facing to the left and inside the silhouette reads “WRONG” in white letters that contrast the silhouette.
- 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
- 2020-10-23
- Contributor
- MM
Files
Collection
Citation
“Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 23 October 2020,” George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art , accessed May 12, 2025, https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3733.