The city of New York has painted the anti-racism motto Black Lives Matter in capital letters on the street in front of the Trump Tower of US President Donald Trump in Manhattan. Mayor Bill de Blasio picked up the paint roller himself yesterday when the slogan was written in yellow on Fifth Avenue in front of the real estate tycoon’s skyscraper.
Black Lives Matter has been the motto of protests against racism and police violence against black people in the US for years. After the death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis in late May, protesters took to the streets across the country.
Lettering in Washington too
The Democrat de Blasio recently said that painting the lettering in front of the Trump Tower is not just an “important message to the entire nation”. It is also a message to Trump, who “has never shown respect for these three words”. Trump, who lived in Trump Tower until his victory in the 2016 presidential election, wrote on Twitter on July 1 that the police should not allow “this symbol of hatred” to be written on the “greatest street” in New York.
In the past few weeks, the President has repeatedly spoken negatively about the anti-racism protests and has focused on riots on the sidelines of the demonstrations. Critics accuse him of repeatedly stirring up racist resentment with his statements. In early June, the mayor of the capital Washington, Democrat Muriel Bowser, had the motto painted on a street near the White House. She also renamed the street section Black-Lives-Matter-Platz.
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