Black Lives Matter Plaza

Black Lives Matter Plaza (resminya Black Lives Matter Plaza Northwest) adalah wilayah sepanjang dua blok di jalan 16th Street NW di pusat kota Washington, D.C., Amerika Serikat Plaza ini dinamakan oleh Walikota Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser pada tanggal 5 Juni 2020, setelah pihak kota membuat tulisan "Black Lives Matter" selebar 11 m di sepanjang wilayah tersebut, sebagai bagian dari unjuk rasa George Floyd. Dalam minggu-minggu berikutnya, puluhan tulisan serupa muncul di jalan-jalan di seantero Amerika Serikat.

Nama 
Tanggal 5 Juni 2020, Departemen Pekerjaan Umum kota Washington D.C. membuat mural tulisan "Black Lives Matter" berwarna kuning selebar  di jalan 16th Street NW di sebelah utara Gedung Putih.
Pada hari yang sama, Walikota Muriel mengumumkan bahwa sebagian jalan 16th Street NW di depan Gedung Putih tersebut secara resmi dinamakan sebagai Black Lives Matter Plaza, ditandai dengan sebuah tanda nama jalan baru. 
Penamaan tersebut juga sebagai reaksi atas brutalitas polisi dan tentara yang terjadi tanggal 1 Juni sebelumnya terhadap pengunjuk rasa damai, demi foto resmi presiden Trump di gereja dekat Gedung Putih, yang menuai banyak kecaman.

Penamaan jalan tersebut dilihat bukan hanya sebagai reaksi atas protes tersebut, namun bagian dari unjuk rasa atas pembunuhan George Floyd.

Lokasi

Plaza ini merupakan koridor sepanjang dua blok di jalan 16th Street NW, di sebelah selatan jalan K St. NW, hingga jalan I St., dan sebelah utara jalan H St. NW.

Reaksi

Gedung Putih 
Polisi Gedung Putih membuat pagar di sepanjang batas utara kebun Gedung Putih.

Komunitas 

Pengunjuk rasa mengkritisi bahwa tindakan (walikota) tersebut hanyalah merupakan distraksi (pengalihan) dari isu sesungguhnya, yaitu perubahan kebijakan (tentang kepolisian). Pada tanggal 6 (hari berikutnya), pengunjuk rasa menambahkan frasa "Defund the Police" dengan huruf dan warna yang sama di ujung tulisan "Black Lives Matter".

Derivatif dan penamaan jalan lain di Amerika Serikat 

Berbagai mural jalanan ditambahkan di seluruh penjuru Amerika Serikat meniru Washington D.C., antara lain:

Birmingham "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along First Avenue South in the Parkside District. On June 23, the city council will vote on whether to rename part of Sixteenth Street North to "Black Lives Matter Boulevard".
Hobson City On June 19, residents painted "Black Towns Matter" using yellow and red road paint along Martin Luther King Boulevard and plan to later paint "Black Lives Matter" along another section of the street.
Mobile On June 21, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along Conti Street downtown. Rain washed away the mural the following day.
 Montgomery On June 19, volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" around Court Square Fountain, once the site of a slave market, to commemorate Juneteenth. The mural is temporary and will be washed away once it begins to wear.

Berkeley On June 9, in response to the Oakland mural, the city council of nearby Berkeley approved painting "Black Lives Matter" on a street in front of the city hall, after students painted a similar street mural in front of Berkeley High School.
Calaveras and Tuolumne counties On June 9, "Black Lives Matter!" was found painted onto a bridge spanning the Middle Fork Stanislaus River in a remote area. By June 13, it had been defaced to read "All Lives Matter!"
Fresno On June 18, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along P Street in front of Fresno City Hall and the city council declared the day "Black Lives Matter Day".
Los Angeles On June 14, an "All Black Lives Matter" mural was painted in front of the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, in conjunction with an All Black Lives Matter march there.
Oakland On June 7, residents and community groups painted "Black Lives Matter" along three blocks of 15th Street in downtown Oakland.
Palo Alto On June 30, up to 16 Bay Area artists will paint a temporary "Black Lives Matter" mural along Hamilton Avenue in front of city hall.
Richmond More than 200 community members painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow along Nevin Avenue in front of the city hall, with each letter measuring .
Sacramento "Black Lives Matter!" was painted on Capitol Mall.
San Francisco The Bay Area Mural Program painted a three-block-long "Black Lives Matter" in yellow along Fulton Street in the Fillmore District, leading up to San Francisco City Hall.
Stockton On June 19, volunteers from across Northern California painted "Black Lives Matter" in the pan-African colors along a street in front of Victory Park.
Denver On June 12, hundreds of volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" and "Remember This Time" along Broadway between the Colorado State Capitol and the City and County Building.
Bridgeport On June 19, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along Broad Street downtown.
St. Petersburg On June 19, "Black Lives Matter" was painted on the street in front of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum.
Atlanta Overnight on June 19, artists painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow along the Eastside Trail.
Oak Park From June 24 to 27, "Black Lives Matter" will be painted in multiple colors measuring  along Scoville Avenue.
Baltimore On June 12, protesters painted "Defund the Police" on Gay Street in front of Baltimore City Hall. On June 21, residents painted "Black Lives Matter" in red along South Linwood Avenue at Patterson Park.
Cambridge On June 16, local artists began painting "Black Lives Matter" along Race Street near the Harriet Tubman Museum. The mural is expected to last about a year.
Salisbury "Black Lives Matter" was painted in blue, yellow, and green (the City of Salisbury’s colors) along a Broad Street sidewalk. Broad Street was renamed to Black Lives Matter Boulevard on June 19.

Detroit On June 17, local artists and students painted "Power to the People" in black and white along Woodward Avenue.
Flint On June 14, several community organizations painted "Black Lives Matter!" on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Jackson On June 14, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in Pan-African colors along High Street near Elnora Moorman Plaza and a house listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book. "Black Lives Matter" was also painted in yellow along West Washington Avenue.
Kalamazoo On June 19, "Black Lives Matter" was painted along the center turn lane of Rose Street.
Lansing A local activist painted "Black Lives Matter" in , yellow and white lettering along Capitol Avenue.
Hattiesburg On June 12, residents painted "Black Lives Matter" along Mobile Street using temporary yellow paint.
Moss Point On June 20, officials painted "Black Lives Matter" and the movement's fist logo on the street in front of city hall.
Florissant From June 19 to 21, activists attempted three times to paint "Black Lives Matter" in  white lettering along North Lindbergh Boulevard in front of the police department, but the city painted over the mural and arrested two activists for violating a local ordinance against street painting.
Highland Park On June 18, volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" on South 5th Avenue across from the police and fire departments and borough hall.
Newark On June 27, a stretch of Halsey Street was painted with "Black Lives Matter".
Albany A community advocacy group painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow along Lark Street, one of the city's busiest streets. Albany Common Council renamed Livingston Park to Black Lives Matter Park.
Buffalo A proposed resolution in Buffalo Common Council would rename a street in the city to "Black Lives Matter Way".
New York City On June 9, Mayor Bill De Blasio announced plans to rename and paint in each of the five boroughs of New York City in honour of Black Lives Matter in consultation with city leaders, advocates and the City Council. He stated "It's time to do something officially representing this city to recognize the power of the fundamental idea of Black Lives Matter, the idea that so much of American history has wrongly renounced, but now must be affirmed." On June 14, volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow along Fulton Street in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The second mural was painted on June 19 along Richmond Terrace on the North Shore of Staten Island between the borough hall and a police precinct. Murals will also be painted along 153rd Street in the Jamacia neighborhood of Queens, Center Street in Manhattan, and Morris Avenue in the Bronx. Two additional murals are planned for Manhattan, including one on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, reminiscent of the original mural in front of the White House.
Nyack On June 19, "Black Lives Matter" and the movement's fist logo were painted in the pan-African colors in tempera paint along Main Street.
Oswego On June 14, the State University of New York at Oswego painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow in front of Sheldon Hall.
Rochester On June 11, volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" along Court Street in blue,  lettering with the Black Lives Matter movement's fist logo on one end and Rochester's Flower City logo on the other end.
Schenectady On June 23, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along Jay Street in front of the city hall.
Syracuse A local attorney obtained a permit to paint "Black Lives Matter" on a street in front of the city hall.

Asheville On June 21, protesters painted "Defund the Police" in yellow along Spruce Street in front of the police department. On June 22, the city washed away the mural.
Charlotte On June 9, "Black Lives Matter" was painted on South Tryon Street. By June 12, it had been vandalized with skid marks.
Fayetteville "Black Lives Do Matter" and "End Racism Now" will be painted on the street encircling the Market House.
Raleigh A dozen volunteers painted "End Racism Now" in yellow on a street near the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh.
Akron On June 18, "Black Lives Matter" was painted with permanent paint along Howard Street, near the site of the fatal shooting of a recent high school graduate, Na'Kia Crawford, the previous Sunday.
Cincinnati Local artists painted "Black Lives Matter!" on Plum Street in front of Cincinnati City Hall. Seventeen local artists were each assigned a letter and up to seven assistants. The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio raised over $100,000 for the project, with proceeds going to a local art group. The mural is expected to last until 2025.
Cleveland On June 20, local artists painted "Black Lives Matter" temporarily along East 93rd Street as part of the Elevate the East art project.
Oklahoma City "Black Voices" and "Black Lives Matter" were painted on streets in Downtown and Northeast Oklahoma City, respectively.
Tulsa Overnight on June 19, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along Greenwood Avenue in the Greenwood District.
Eugene On June 18, local artists with the Eugene BIPOC Art Collective painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow lettering with black handprints along 8th Avenue downtown in front of the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse. That night, the mural was defaced with tire tracks. Over the following days a suspect was identified, and the artists & community added to the mural, incorporating the tracks into the design by covering them with handprints all colors of the rainbow.
Philadelphia A pastor had "End Racism Now" painted in yellow on a street in the Fishtown neighborhood. City crews tried unsuccessfully to remove it.
Spartanburg On June 20, volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" along West Broad Street.

Austin "Black Austin Matters" was painted in yellow along Congress Avenue. The Austin Justice Coalition painted "Black Artists Matter" in yellow along East 11th Street in the Central East Austin neighborhood.
Dallas "Black Lives Matter" was painted across the plaza in front of Dallas City Hall.
Houston On June 19, "Black Towns Matter" was painted in red and yellow lettering along Link Road in Independence Heights, the first city incorporated by African-Americans in Texas.
Prairie View On June 19, Prairie View A&M University students painted a permanent "Black Lives Matter" street mural along Sandra Bland Parkway.
Montpelier On June 13, hundreds of volunteers painted "Black Lives Matter" in yellow on the street in front of the Vermont State House. The mural was vandalized the following day.
Madison On June 8, protesters painted "Defund Police" in yellow along Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard downtown.
Milwaukee On June 19, "Black Lives Matter" was painted in yellow along North Martin Luther King Junior Drive adjacent to a police station in the Harambee neighborhood. Much of the mural washed away in a thunderstorm the following day.

Seattle

Seattle Local artists painted a colorful Black Lives Matter street mural in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

Negara lain 

Similar street murals have also been painted outside the United States:
 In Brunswick, Victoria, residents painted "Black Lives Matter" in black against a green background on Florence Street.
 In Toronto, protesters painted "Defund the Police" in hot pink along College Street outside Toronto Police Service headquarters.
 In Greenwich, Greenwich London Borough Council painted "Black Lives Matter" across General Gordon Square.

Referensi

Pranala luar 

Satellite photograph of the original mural by Maxar Technologies

Washington, D.C.
Afrika-Amerika
Black Lives Matter
Jalan di Amerika Serikat