On June 5, 2020, eleven days after the murder of George Floyd, “Black Lives Matter” was painted in yellow capital letters along with the flag of Washington, D.C. on two blocks on 16th Street and was renamed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as Black Lives Matter Plaza.
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
– Langston Hughes