Erasing the mural on the street leading to the White House is expected to take six to eight weeks and cost about $610,000.
Work to remove Black Lives Matter Plaza began Monday, a day after more than 50 members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity gathered to remind people what the ground mural means to the African American community.
Erasing the mural on the street leading to the White House is expected to take six to eight weeks and cost about $610,000.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last week announced plans to remove the large yellow lettering that’s been a landmark in the city since it was installed in 2020, acknowledging she made the move after pressure from the White House.
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Members of one of the country’s oldest Black fraternities gathered at the plaza Sunday and sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is often called the Black national anthem.
Richard Mattox, a Kappa Alpha Psi member, said the removal is just a setback before a serious comeback.
“This will always be, because Black lives matter,” Mattox said.
“We’re not protesting,” he continued. “We recognize the meaning. We recognize why it has to be done. We support the local officials, but we want it to be known: You can erase this, but you cannot erase our history.”
How DC's Black Lives Matter mural is set to be removed
In the first step, bollards that go up and down the plaza in the street were slated to be removed Monday.
The lettering and the cobblestones now are being removed. Workers were seen at midday Monday using equipment to break up the stones.
After that, the street will be paved over in asphalt. The plan is to give the plaza two lanes in each direction, as it was before the mural’s installation nearly five years ago.
The process is being done in phases, starting at K Street NW and moving south toward the White House.
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