Op-Ed: Bowser Gave Up The Mural. We Can’t Give Up The Movement

Source: Tasos Katopodis / Getty

There’s something telling about how unsurprised many of us were. 

When the massive “Black Lives Matter” lettering on that stretch of 16th Street NW was painted over in early March, it didn’t shock many of us — not because we didn’t care, but because we always knew it was performative. The mural was never meant to last because it was never about lasting change. 

Mayor Muriel Bowser defended the decision, saying, “We have bigger fish to fry.” Her rationale was economic and political...