George Floyd protesters turn White House fence into memorial wall

Protesters in Washington are in the process of turning the fence erected around Lafayette Square to push them away from the White House into a memorial wall honoring victims of police violence and racial injustice.

Photos and video from Washington on Sunday show a number of protest signs mounted on the fence by demonstrators bearing messages that include “Black Lives Matter,” “No justice, no peace,” “Say their names” and other rallying cries of those who have marched through the nation’s capital over the 10 days.

The Washington Post’s Hannah Natanson shared a video of the scene Sunday:

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 are strolling, looking, adding names and paintings and posters. pic.twitter.com/mXlZpfMAeX — Hannah Natanson (@hannah_natanson) June 7, 2020

Washington has seen daily protests for more than a week following the death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died May 25 when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired and later arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while three other officers on the scene were fired and later charged with aiding and abetting.

Video of Floyd’s death went viral and helped spark nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

During the protests in Washington, Lafayette Square served as a flashpoint. On Monday, the protestors gathered there were forcibly cleared from the area by U.S. Park Police and law enforcement, who used chemical agents in the process, so President Donald Trump could walk from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church after a televised speech.

The next day, a tall black fence was erected around on the north edge of Lafayette Square, and by Thursday, all entrances to Lafayette Park, the Ellipse and other open spaces near the White House had been closed, according to DCist.

Since then, the fence has been a meeting point for demonstrators, with the largest crowds yet descending on the area near the White House on Saturday, and the space has become symbolic of the larger protests.

Over the weekend, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser renamed the stretch of 16th Street NW that leads to Lafayette Square as “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and painted the words “Black Lives Matter” onto the street. On Saturday, Black Lives Matter organizers turned the D.C. flag on the mural into an equals sign and added the words “Defund the police” to the pavement.

Black Lives Matter organizers are painting “Defund the Police” in yellow paint on 16th Street right now pic.twitter.com/62zFMPXXOo — Samantha Schmidt (@schmidtsam7) June 7, 2020

Now, demonstrators are leaving their signs on the fence as another symbol of the protests.

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