A Black Lives Matter Mural Has Been Painted Outside Trump Tower
A Black Lives Matter mural has been painted along 5th Avenue in New York City — right in front of Trump Tower.
On Thursday, groups of painters began painting the mural in yellow letters on the street, despite President Donald Trump's pushback against having the letters emblazoned in front of the headquarters for the Trump Organization.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans for the project in late June. "The president is a disgrace to the values we cherish in New York City. He can’t run or deny the reality we are facing, and any time he wants to set foot in the place he claims is his hometown, he should be reminded Black Lives Matter," Julia Arredondo, the mayor's spokeswoman, said at the time.
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Trump tweeted calling the mural a "symbol of hate," to which the mayor replied, "Here’s what you don’t understand: Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation. Your 'luxury' came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated. We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism."
Here’s what you don’t understand:
Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation.
Your “luxury” came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated.
We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism.— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 1, 2020
The mural joins several other similar street paintings across New York City in each of the five boroughs, as well as ones like it across the country, including a 148-foot long mural in Los Angeles.
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Last month, Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, had workers paint "Black Lives Matter" in giant yellow letters outside the White House after the president deployed federal officers during protests there. At the time, the Washington chapter of Black Lives Matter tweeted that the move was "a performative distraction from real policy changes."
