New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Rev. Al Sharpton joined forces to send a message to President Donald Trump directly in front of one of his own buildings, Trump Tower.
De Blasio and Sharpton lead the charge in painting a mural with the words “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue, between 56th and 57th streets, in New York City.
The New York City mayor opened the initiative with a message of his own.
“We are not denigrating anything. We are liberating Fifth Avenue. We are uplifting Fifth Avenue,” de Blasio said.
He added, “Who built this city? Who built this nation and never got the acknowledgment, the recognition, the compensation? When we say black lives matter, there is no more American statement. There’s no more patriotic statement because there is no America without black America.”
Watch his comments below:
De Blasio called on the crowd to show Trump “what he does not understand” and “paint it right in front of his building for him.”
He issued his own tweet reiterating his message.
“Our city isn’t just painting the words on Fifth Avenue. We’re committed to the meaning of the message,” de Blasio said.
Our city isn’t just painting the words on Fifth Avenue. We’re committed to the meaning of the message. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/VE6MT80qDI
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 9, 2020
Watch the painting of the mural below:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rev. Al Sharpton help paint the "Black Lives Matter" mural in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. https://t.co/bLsMQaI734 pic.twitter.com/dCx2Sy0NVo
— ABC News (@ABC) July 9, 2020
Trump expressed his disapproval of the mural in a tweet on July 1.
“NYC is cutting Police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the [New York City Mayor] is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue,” Trump said.
He added, “This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the….horrible BLM chant, ‘Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon’. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!”
Here’s what you don’t understand:
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 1, 2020
Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation.
Your “luxury” came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated.
We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism.
De Blasio fired back at Trump.
“Here’s what you don’t understand: Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation. Your ‘luxury’ came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated. We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism,” de Blasio said.
He added, “You also don’t know that NY’s Finest are now a majority people of color. They already know Black Lives Matter. There is no ‘symbol of hate’ here. Just a commitment to truth. Only in your mind could an affirmation of people’s value be a scary thing.”
The mural comes just days after two were caught defacing a “Black Lives Matter” mural in Martinez, California, as IJR previously reported.
