NYC Begins Painting Black Lives Matter Mural In Front Of Trump Tower

Enlarge this image

Azia Toussaint helps paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower on Thursday in New York.

hide caption

toggle caption

Mark Lennihan/AP

Live Updates: Protests For Racial Justice
Trump: Painting ‘Black Lives Matter’ On 5th Avenue Would Be ‘Symbol Of Hate’

The new artwork takes a cue from another mural at Trump’s doorstep.

In early June, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser had the words «Black Lives Matter» painted in huge yellow letters on the street that leads to the White House. Local activists soon added the words «Defund The Police.»

Live Updates: Protests For Racial Justice
‘Black Lives Matter Plaza,’ Across From White House, Is Christened By D.C. Leaders

Across New York City, Black Lives Matter murals have been painted on the streets. One in bright yellow in Bedford Stuyvesant. A colorful, eclectic one in Lower Manhattan. In Harlem, a multicolored mural that spans both sides of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

Many activists say they want more than murals. Dominique Hazzard is a part of the Black Lives Matter chapter in D.C.

«The paint on the street is a beautiful symbol. It’s very nice. But you need real actions for Black people here in D.C.,» including reducing the police budget, she told NPR last month. «We need to divest from that money and invest that money in things that actually keep people safe, like housing, health care, food, confliction resolution and services on our streets. That’s what we need to keep us safe. And if Black lives matter, those are the kinds of changes they’ll make.»