Skip to content Skip to footer

Trump’s New White House Barrier Transformed Into Black Lives Matter Memorial

A structure for division and separation has been transformed into a symbol of revolt.

Protesters hold up signs near the White House's recently erected security fence, now turned into a memorial against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, during a peaceful protest on June 7, 2020, in Washington, D.C.

As peaceful protests continued to flower and grow in U.S. cities and around the world over the weekend, a newly-erected security fence established around the White House in Washington, D.C. became what one reporter described as a “crowd-sourced memorial wall” — adorned with hand-made signs, posters, and other tributes — that offered a poignant rebuke to the president’s “law and order” response to the demonstrations that erupted following the murder of George Floyd last month.

Since the new security barrier was established late last week, it has been adorned with countless protest signs calling for justice, declaring “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” and naming many other victims killed violently by law enforcement in recent years.

Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Sunday posted a video of the scene which has since attracted more than 5 million views on social media:

Speaking with DCist.com, Kai Gamanya, a surgical technician who participated in protests in the nation’s capitol over the weekend, talked about hanging a painting he made on the fence and how uplifting it was overall to see the people transform the physical barrier into a symbol of protest and a tribute to lives lost and the justice now being demanded.

“It’s like the whole nation is crying, and this whole fence is crying,” said Gamanya. “And if you were to back up and see it from beginning to end, it’s nothing but posters from all the way down.”

While Trump built a large portion of his political brand and 2016 president campaign on his desire to “build the wall” along the entire U.S. southern border, the irony was not lost on those who witnessed the nearly 1.7 miles of new fence put up to surround the White House last week.

But the manner in which demonstrators and visitors transformed the structure for division and separation into a symbol of revolt and passionate expression gave many observers a feeling of hope and pride:

“Beautiful,” said actor and activist George Takei in a one-word response to the video posted by Natanson.

“Whose fence?” tweeted Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “Our fence!”

We’re not going to stand for it. Are you?

You don’t bury your head in the sand. You know as well as we do what we’re facing as a country, as a people, and as a global community. Here at Truthout, we’re gearing up to meet these threats head on, but we need your support to do it: We must raise $16,000 before midnight to ensure we can keep publishing independent journalism that doesn’t shy away from difficult — and often dangerous — topics.

We can do this vital work because unlike most media, our journalism is free from government or corporate influence and censorship. But this is only sustainable if we have your support. If you like what you’re reading or just value what we do, will you take a few seconds to contribute to our work?