WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Starlette Thomas remembers coming down almost daily to the intersection of 16th and H streets, to protest police brutality and systemic racial iniquities during the summer of 2020.
On Monday, the 45-year old Bowie, Maryland resident returned to the site of those protests to mourn the end of Black Lives Matter Plaza.
鈥淚 needed to be here today. I can鈥檛 just let this go away,鈥� Thomas said, as jackhammers began tearing into the giant yellow letters in the street. Thomas discretely secured a chunk of pavement and said holding it made her feel conflicted.
鈥淭o walk away with a piece of that, it means it鈥檚 not gone,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than brick and mortar.鈥�
Crews started work Monday to remove the large yellow 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� painted on the street one block from the White House. D.C. Mayor announced the change last week to pressure from Republicans in Congress. The work is expected to take about six weeks and the words will be replaced by an unspecified set of city-sponsored murals.
The painting of those words was an act of government-sponsored defiance during President first term. The removal amounts to a public acknowledgement of just how vulnerable the District of Columbia is now that Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control both houses of Congress.
Bowser, a Democrat, and renamed the intersection Black Lives Matter Plaza in June 2020. It came after days of chaotic protests at that location following the by a Minneapolis police officer; Bowser had clashed with Trump over her handling of the protests.
But now Bowser has little power to fend off encroachments on D.C.'s limited autonomy. Bowser said last week on X that, 鈥淭he mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can鈥檛 afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.鈥�
Among those who gathered to witness the work Monday was Megan Bailiff, CEO of Equus Striping, the pavement marking company that originally painted the letters.
Bailiff called the dismantling of Black Lives Matter Plaza, 鈥渉istorically obscene鈥� and said its presence was, 鈥渕ore significant at this very moment than it ever has been in this country.鈥�
The far right celebrated the shift online, with conservative provocateur the site to hail, 鈥渢he end of this mass race hysteria in our country.鈥�
In Trump鈥檚 second term, Bowser has and downplay any points of contention. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with Trump after the election and has publicly emphasized their points of agreement.
Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a of the nation鈥檚 capital, describing Washington as being riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has refused to comment on reports that the White House is preparing an executive order targeting Washington. She publicly said that the greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was 鈥渟ome of the people in Congress.鈥�
Congressional Republicans have repeatedly threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A measure currently before Congress, named the , seeks to the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the capital city limited autonomy.
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Associated Press journalists Nathan Ellgren contributed reporting.
Ashraf Khalil And Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press
