Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 07 November 2020

Title

Protest signs and artwork on the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence, Date: 07 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.

Then there is a panoramic shot of the fence with the Washington Monument in the background.

There is a large poster that has a mugshot of John Lewis from the '60s and then a more recent picture of him that reads “He marched so ALL could vote. Go” There is a QR code on the poster that reads “Register to Vote Text WEVOTE to 40649” The OR code leads to an expired link currently. There is writing on the poster that reads “I Hope Youre [sic] Proud Of Us Mr. Lewis RIP ”

There is a cloth sheet that reads “There’s a poster that reads “’I can’t breathe. I have my ID [illegible] My name is Elijah McClain. That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’M JUST DIFFERENT. That’s all. I’M SO SORRY. I have [illegible] fun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat. I don’t judge people, I don’t judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will [illegible] anything. Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Ow, that really hurt. You all are very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work. Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to do that. I JUST CAN’T BREATHE CORRECTLY’ – Elijah McClain as he was being murdered on Aug. 24, 2019. Elijah was put in a chokehold and lost consciences. The paramedics injected him with ketamine. He suffered a heart attack and was declared Brain Dead. His killers – Nathan Woodyard & Jason Rosenblatt & Randy Roedema still work for the Aurora Police Department. DONATE TO [illegible] ELIJAHSFOUNDATION https://gf.me.u.x5g5vw

Posters read “Eviction Notice” “United Against Fascism” “Trump is Over” “Justice 4 George” “Nebraska Farmer 88 yrs old Uncle Marvin says ‘Black Lives Matter. Don’t you forget it!’ VOTE” “Thank you Jim Clyburn Stacey Abrams! African Americans saved this country Again! Thank you!” “Black Trans Lives Matter” “Vote Them Out” “Abolition Not Reform” “If Your Religious Beliefs Oppose Abortion, Don’t Have One” “It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way. STOP Killing Black People” “Abolish the Police” “Abolish the Patriarchy” “How Many More?” “[illegible] Freedoms Protected By The First Amendment Stupid Bitch” “’In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ SPEAK UP!” “Black Lives Matter” “Justice For Karon Hylton Fuck 12 Justice for Karon Hylton” “Respect Existence or Expect Resistance” “people build peace” “Abolish the Slave Catcher” “Rewrite The Constitution For The 21st Century” “J.Bagshaw Allowed His Officers To Terrorize Citizens For Protesting The Murders of Black People.” “Lve Kills Hate” with the ‘E’ replaced with a swastika.

A poster reads “Trump” and it has a red circle around it and a line through it. Another poster reads “Vote Out Trump the liar the racist the transphobic the homophobic the useless the hateful the ableist the white supremacist the rapist” behind this is another poster that is covered up slightly but one is able to see that it is representing a protest and there are depictions of people raising their fists.

Another poster reads “Murderous Pigs Dept” and has an image of a drawn pig beside it and “MPD” is highlighted with red. Another poster reads “We Keep Us Safe” and there are two images of drawn pigs that have been crossed out.

There is a water bottle and a bottle of champagne on the ground next to a poster that reads “Biden my time until Trump has officially LOST #2020 Election”

There is a poster with a drawing of a woman who is holding another poster and it reads “ #BLM 2020 [‘] Count Every Vote Every Vote Counts”

There is a black power fist that has bandages wrapped around the wrist and reads “Black Lives Matter.” There are names of victims of police brutality and the poster also reads “#SAYTHEIRNAME!!”
Another
A poster has an image of a chair and it reads ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table – bring a folding chair. – Shirley Chisholm”

On the ground, there is a statement that is spray painted that reads “Don’t Call Cops To This Block! 1312”

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

2020-11-07

Contributor

MM

Identifier

UAM-GF_3746