DC Mayor Has an Update on the Black Lives Matter Plaza

Leah Barkoukis | March 05, 2025 8:30 AM

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Tuesday that the Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House may soon be gone.

“We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight wards,” she said in a statement on X.

“The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference,” Bowser added. “The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”

A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed to News4 that Black Lives Matter Plaza will be rennamed. There's no timeline yet for the change, but it will be replaced with a mural designed by DC schoolchildren.
This comes a day after Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia introduced legislation that, if passed, would force Bowser to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza or else lose federal funding for D.C.
The bill says the District would have to change the two-block stretch of 16th Street NW to Liberty Plaza, update all government websites and documents with the new name and cover up the huge yellow Black Lives Matter mural that covers the street.
If unchanged, “certain apportionment funds” would be withheld from the District, according to the bill.
The area was designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide, including in the District. Bowser unveiled the mural on June 5, 2020. It was paved over about a year later, but the mural was replaced. Bowser announced the new mural would be a permanent installation in October 2021. (NBC Washington)