A "

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

" street mural was painted in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in June 2020. Maintained by the

Seattle Department of Transportation The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a municipal government agency in Seattle, Washington that is responsible for the maintenance of the city's transportation systems, including roads, bridges, and public transportation. The agency ...

, the artwork has survived longer than many Black Lives Matter street murals across the United States.

Description and history

The text "Black Lives Matter" was first painted in large white letters on Pine Street between 10th and 11th avenues, during the

Capitol Hill Occupied Protest The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest or the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), originally Free Capitol Hill and later the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), was an occupation protest and self-declared autonomous zone in the Capitol Hill nei ...

. After the letters began to deteriorate, the mural was etched permanently into the road surface in September and repainted with colorful, block letters, each contributed by a different artist. Mural artists include Takiyah Ward and Kimisha Turner. The "E" in "matter" featured representations of graffiti seen around the city, and its artist was criticised for having included the anti-police slogan

ACAB ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) is an acronym used as a political slogan associated with dissidents who are opposed to the police. It is typically written as a catchphrase in graffiti, tattoos or other imagery in public spaces. It is sometimes num ...

, apparently without notifying other artists.

Maintenance and legacy

The mural is maintained by the

. To protect the pedestrian area, slower traffic lanes came to displace East Pine Street's curb parking. The work was refreshed in July 2022 and will require periodic maintenance over time. In March 2023, Amanda Ong of the South Seattle Emerald said the community gardens and the mural "are all that remain" of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. In June, Melissa Santos of ''Axios'' noted that Seattle's two Black Lives Matter murals have been preserved better than others across the United States. She wrote, "While some Black Lives Matter murals painted after the 2020 murder of George Floyd are getting paved over or worn away by traffic, Seattle has taken steps to restore its mural and make it permanent." Jasmine Mahmoud of Black Arts Legacies called the mural "an enduring Seattle memorial" in mid 2023.

References

External links

* {{Public art in Seattle 2020 establishments in Washington (state) 2020 paintings 2020s murals African-American history in Seattle Black Lives Matter art Capitol Hill, Seattle Murals in Washington (state)

Description and history

Maintenance and legacy

See also

References

External links