After Washington, D.C. officials announced that the Black Lives Matter mural would be no more, South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace has suggested a new name for Black Lives Matter Plaza.
In a bill introduced on the House floor, Mace suggested that the corridor between 16th Street Northwest and H and K streets be named after Charlie Kirk, the controversial right-wing conservative pundit who was shot and killed at an event in Utah earlier this year. If the GOP bill passes, the plaza would be named “Charlie Kirk Freedom of Speech Plaza.”
“Today marks three months since Charlie Kirk was assassinated in cold blood,” Mace wrote in a statement on X. “He was a peaceful leader who stood for free speech, open conversation, faith and family values.”
She added, “The BLM movement is a t*rrorist organization who targeted our law enforcement, rioted in our streets, looted and burned cities to the ground.
One deserves to have memorials and recognition. You decide which.”
After the death of George Floyd in 2020 and subsequent global protests, the street in front of the White House was transformed into a mural and was expected to remain BLM Plaza until a Republican congressman threatened to withhold funding for DC unless outgoing mayor Muriel Bowser removed the mural and changed the name of the plaza.
Bowser announced the mural would change, but instead would align with the celebration of America 250.
“We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight wards. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference,” Bowser wrote in a statement.
“The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”
Mace stated it was one of Kirk’s wishes for BLM Plaza to be renamed before he died.
“It is the end of this mass race hysteria happening in our country,” he said in a video posted to his TikTok account. “It is quite the effort. They have to actually get down to the street itself to get rid of all the nonsense here. Make America great again, getting rid of BLM Plaza.”
The idea of renaming a street in D.C. after Kirk echoes a similar move by Rick Scott (R-FL). Scott filed a resolution in October calling for the area H Street between Connecticut Avenue Northwest and Virginia Avenue Northwest in Washington to be designated as “Charlie Kirk Patriot Way.”
