On Monday, officials in Washington, DC began dismantling the section of 16th Street NE that had been painted with the “Black Lives Matter” message, marking a win for Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA). This action followed Clyde’s continued efforts to remove the controversial slogan from the city.
The stretch of road, located on Black Lives Plaza (formerly Liberty Plaza), was renamed in 2020 by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser after the civil unrest that followed George Floyd’s death. The area had become a politically charged symbol during the 2020 presidential race.
Clyde had reintroduced his bill on March 3 to erase the message and rename the plaza, which is just a block away from the White House. Breitbart News reported on this exclusively.
The next day, Bowser announced her plan to replace the painted slogan with murals. Clyde told Breitbart News, “It wouldn’t have happened without the pressure. I mean, we are trying to make a more efficient government, and President Trump is pushing the message that this is the golden era of America. You can’t have a message of ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted on 40-foot letters across multiple blocks of Washington, DC. That is a divisive message. The golden era of America is not divisive in nature.”
Although the Home Rule Act of 1973 granted DC some degree of self-government, Congress retains the power to oversee and potentially overturn any laws within the district.
Trump has argued that the federal government should reclaim control of DC’s governance, pointing to the rising crime and homelessness, which he attributes to local leaders focusing on progressive political stances rather than effective governance.
Clyde criticized the “45-year experiment” of DC home rule, calling it a “failure” and accusing the city of promoting division, especially in the context of the November elections. He said, “It was 100 percent a message from the American people on wokeness, on DEI, on critical race theory, all of that rejected by the American people.”
In the previous Congress, Clyde had introduced legislation to eliminate DC’s home rule and also worked on bipartisan legislation aimed at reversing a controversial law that softened criminal penalties in DC—a bill that ultimately received President Joe Biden’s approval.
“The Constitution gives Congress complete legislative authority over the city,” Clyde stated. “The founding fathers were pretty intelligent men, and they knew that this city was not just for the inhabitants, but for all of America, for everyone in the entire country. And the city is to be a shining light on the hill of liberty.”
When Bowser announced her plan to modify Black Lives Matter Plaza, she referenced the federal government’s authority over the district, which appeared to be an acknowledgment of the push from Congress. Clyde expressed his appreciation for this, saying, “I greatly appreciate the mayor recognizing the authority of Congress and recognizing that we fund the city of Washington, DC. When I filed this piece of legislation, it took her right about a day, about 24 hours, to recognize that, ‘Hey, I think it’s really appropriate that we get rid of the Black Lives Matter Plaza and yield to the will of Congress.’ Because we do fund the entire city.”
Clyde emphasized that the effort to improve DC’s governance is not a matter of partisan politics. “I want the city to be safer. I want it to be more prosperous,” he said, adding that his 2023 legislation, which successfully repealed a lenient crime law, was just the beginning. “It’s small, but I think it’s important symbolically to returning our city to that beacon on the hill.”
He made it clear that work remains to be done in Congress to improve the nation’s capital. “We have rampant crime in the city that’s only been increasing,” Clyde remarked. “We have a radical city council that continually makes bad decisions. And it’s time for Congress to exercise its authority and to take it back.”
When asked about potential future steps regarding DC’s home rule, Clyde hinted that more changes are coming. “Stand by,” he said. “It’s coming.”
{Matzav.com}The post Goodbye, Woke: Black Lives Matter Plaza Jackhammered by D.C. After Pressure from Rep. Andrew Clyde first appeared on Matzav.com.