Meant to keep them out, protesters decorate fences around White House with racial justice messages

By David Matthews New York Daily News • June 9, 2020 3:30 pm
The steel fence near the White House has become a makeshift memorial in Washington, D.C. After days of protests in D.C. over the death of George Floyd, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th street “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The steel fence near the White House has become a makeshift memorial in Washington, D.C. After days of protests in D.C. over the death of George Floyd, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has renamed that section of 16th street “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

By David Matthews

New York Daily News

The miles of new fencing put up around the White House to prevent protesters from getting too close to the building has become a canvas for demonstrators to share messages in support racial justice.

The fencing began going up around the complex a week ago after President Donald Trump walked from the White House to visit a church that had been burned the night before, after tear gas was used to clear the area of demonstrators.

The fencing, which is over 8 feet tall, was also put up after multiple reports that Trump was rushed to a secure bunker during demonstrations in Washington.

However, the fences have become their own sort of destination as signs in support of victims of police violence like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Black Lives Matter and demands for police reform have turned them into memorial walls.

The fence outside the White House has been converted to a crowd-sourced memorial wall —almost like an art gallery — to black men and women who lost their lives at the hands of police.

Hundreds of people were strolling, looking, adding names and paintings and posters.

The Secret Service said that areas around the White House, including Lafayette Park, would be closed until at least Wednesday, “in an effort to maintain the necessary security measures surrounding the White House complex, while also allowing for peaceful demonstration,” meaning the impromptu art gallery should stay up for at least a few more days.