The pavement on South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, was painted with the words “Black Lives Matter” on Tuesday.
“There’s a little project going on Uptown that we are very excited about…” tweeted Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones on Tuesday morning, following up with pictures taken from the side and above. According to local NBC affiliate WCNC, Jones said that “putting Black Lives Matter would be a powerful message after Washington, DC, did the same last week.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser organized a similar project in the nation’s capital, naming the chosen portion of 16th street in front of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” Bowser called it “an affirmative piece of art,” saying:
We certainly are very proud of the D.C. mural that we commissioned in our Department of Public Works and local artists installed. It is an affirmative piece of art, a centering piece of art where people from around the globe have called us and thanked us for acknowledging black humanity and black lives in the most important city in the world, and we are very proud of that art.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, street is expected to reopen on Tuesday evening by 7:00 p.m. Protesters plan to gather at the painting for an eight-minute, 46 second moment of silence in remembrance of George Floyd’s alleged murder at the hands of Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department. No official marching will take place.
North Carolina 12th District congresswoman, Rep. Alma S. Adams lauded the work on Twitter. “Charlotte has amazing artists,” she said. “Everyone in our city should be proud of this work.”