Signs and artwork are shown on Lafayette Square fencing in this Oct. 9 file photo. The area around Black Lives Matter Plaza has become a gallery of sorts for signs and protest-inspired artwork. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Ever since the two blocks of 16th Street between K and H streets Northwest were re-christened “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” the area has taken on special significance in the movement against police brutality and systemic racism. It has also become a gallery of sorts for signs and protest-inspired artwork, especially on the fencing erected around Lafayette Square. Last weekend’s “Million MAGA March” meant another instance of it all being torn down.
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But on Monday, protesters began what they have done time and again in the tumultuous months following the killing of George Floyd: fill the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza with new signs and artwork. It’s dubbed the “Art Build,” and continued into Tuesday.
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A coalition of groups, including Shutdown DC, the Good Trouble Co-Op and Spaces in Action, took part in the event.
How DC prepares school buildings for students to return to class
This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage.
At Boone Elementary School in Southeast D.C. on Friday afternoon, crews painted classrooms, fixed doors, upgraded the parking lot and cut the grass.
