Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 03 November 2020

Title

Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 03 November 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 panoramic shot of the fence with the Washington Monument in the background and all the posters and an orange and grey sweatshirt that are on poles that make them stand above the fence. There are coolers, chairs, a ladder, tarps, and various cups on the ground in front of the fence.

There are four white tarps that have drawn depictions of Donald Trump as a devil or a ghost and they reads from left to right “Halloween horror Voter Fraud” (this image is a drawing of Trump as a Devil and he is ripping a ballot in half), next reads “Tyranny’s ghost (a drawing of Trump as a ghost holding a MAGA sign), the third reads “Liar Liar Pants on Fire” (a drawing of Trump as a Devil and his pants are on fire), the last tarp reads “Dear Leader Gift of God?” (a drawing of Trump as a Devil and he is holding money in one hand and a cross in his other hand).

There is a large tarp that has an image of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and John Lewis and it reads “A foul rain falls – harder than ever. There was only an umbrella. But at least that. Forged from the blood of your brow. Sunny out!, they smile. Would that it were because justice is blind.” There is a piece of cardboard with writing on it that is faded and reads “Chaple Church of Lafayette, IN St. Elizabeth Hospital [;] Sex abuse Decon” And the rest is Illegible.

There is a picture of a protest that is going on and there are people holding posters that read “Black Lives Matter ! Trans Lives Matter !” and “I Didn’t Vote For Trump or Biden Be An Independent Thinker! #BestPossible[illegible]”

There is an image of a ceramic red “Make America Great Again” hat that is broken on the ground.

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

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Publisher

Urban Art Mapping

Date

2020-11-03

Contributor

MM

Identifier

UAM-GF_3743