A "
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
" street mural was painted in
Capitol Hill, Seattle
Capitol Hill is a densely populated residential district and a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is immediately east of Downtown Seattle and north of First Hill. The neighborhood is one of the city's most popular nightlife ...
, 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 so ...
of
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
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 agenc ...
, 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
Pine Street is a major east–west street in Seattle, Washington, United States. It travels parallel to Pike Street between Downtown Seattle and the retail core to Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madrona.
Street description
Pine S ...
between 10th and 11th avenues, during the
Capitol Hill Occupied Protest
The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, originally Free Capitol Hill, later the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), was an Occupation (protest), occupation protest and self-declared Autonomo ...
.
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, an acronym for all cops are bastards, is a political slogan associated with those opposed to the police and commonly expressed as a catchphrase in graffiti or tattoos. It is sometimes expressed as 1312, with each digit representing the po ...
, apparently without notifying other artists.
Maintenance and legacy
The mural is 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 agenc ...
. 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.
See also
*
2020 in art
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)