TAKEOVER

House GOP Wants to Get Rid of DC’s Black Lives Matter Plaza

The historic site was renamed after the nationwide movement that was inspired by the horrific deaths of Black Americans.

House Republicans are planning to scrub the name from Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., a site that was renamed following the tragic death of George Floyd in May 2020.

Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a white cop in a killing that ignited a nationwide movement calling for police accountability and racial justice. Protesters took to the streets of the U.S. capital, chanting the names of Floyd and other Black victims of police violence—Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among others—and were met with violence and tear gas near the site of the plaza.

Shortly after, a mural was unveiled on the site to condemn police brutality and send the message “loud and clear” that the city recognizes people’s “humanity,” according to Black D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Now, following Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the administration will destroy “left-wing pet projects” and address “partisan abuses… such as Black Lives Matter Plaza,” according to House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky. Trump has previously said he approves of taking over the nation’s capital, stating, “I think that we should govern District of Columbia.”