See the ‘Black Lives Matter’ murals popping up on streets across New York City
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office
First announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio as a celebration of Juneteenth last month, giant murals spelling out Black Lives Matter have been popping up across New York City, with the streets also officially co-named after the movement. There are eight large-scale murals total: Centre Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Manhattan, Richmond Terrace on Staten Island, 153rd Street in Queens, Joralemon and Fulton Streets in Brooklyn, Morris Avenue in the Bronx, and on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower.
The Centre Street mural stretches 600 feet in front of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan’s Foley Square. Unlike other murals across the city, the Centre Street design features unique elements on each letter created by local artists.
Photos courtesy of the city’s Department of Transportation
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer worked with the Black Lives Matter Movement of Greater New York, architecture firm WXY, the city’s Department of Transportation, and the Public Design Commission, to make the mural a reality.
“I chose this location to paint a Black Lives Matter mural because of the history of downtown Manhattan, a site of resistance to slavery and Jim Crow, of gathering places, houses of worship, and workplaces, steps from the African Burial Ground, and in front of institutions in our justice system–from the police to prosecutors to courts,” Brewer said in a press release.
“We are excited about this tribute to the sustained struggle of those who seek to end racism and liberate Black People from 400 years of oppression,” Hawk Newsome, chair of BLM of Greater New York, said. “This project is a memorial to those who lost their lives to anti-Blackness and a celebration of those who continue to march toward justice.”
Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
On Thursday, de Blasio helped paint a mural of bright yellow letters spelling out the motto in front of Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets.
“We are making a statement today of what we value in New York City. We are making a statement of what matters,” de Blasio said during the event. “When I announced that we would be doing this here, President Trump said that we would be denigrating the luxury of Fifth Avenue. Let me tell you, we are not denigrating anything. We are liberating Fifth Avenue.”
Photos courtesy of the city’s Department of Transportation
Staten Island residents joined forces to paint a mural last month that stretches from Borough Hall to the 120th Precinct in St. George. Richmond Terrace was officially co-named Black Lives Matter Plaza.
Photos courtesy of the city’s Department of Transportation
Two thoroughfares in Brooklyn now boast a Black Lives Matter Mural: Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn and Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy. And Joralemon Street is now also known as Black Lives Matter Boulevard.
“While public art and holidays alone will not achieve the justice we seek, these monuments to memory have and will continue to spark the spirit within us that embraces our diversity, recognizes our faults, and rededicates to a future where we are all truly equal and free from systemic racism,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement last month.
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Photos courtesy of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s Office and the New York City Department of Transportation
