Chicago artists work to preserve Black Lives Matter art
Why it matters: The protests against police brutality were an inflection point in a city with a complicated history of policing. Artists expressing their feelings about that moment and the larger social justice movement was natural in a city known for its public art.
Flashback: As protests wove through Chicago neighborhoods in the summer of 2020, Paint the City founders Missy Perkins and Barrett Keithley connected artists with businesses who wanted to show their support for Black Lives Matter.
"It was just a thing where we just couldn't sit back and kind of watch this happen and not do something. We were obviously both feeling like, 'What kind of action can we take?'" Perkins tells Axios. "We know so many artists from all over the place that could go out and create these inspiring murals as a way to help people or as a way to engage in a conversation."
Perkins says the group created hundreds of artistic boards across the city.
Yes, but: All of those boards are not currently on display to the public.
Many were shown in the 2021 exhibition "Resilient Voices," at the DuSable Museum in Washington Park, but Perkins says they're now in storage in need of restoration and a permanent home.
Paint the City is exploring funding avenues to make that happen.
State of play: Other groups, including the Sounding Boards Garden initiative, created displays that are still open to the public.
In a lot behind Harmony Community Church in North Lawndale sits an outdoor gallery of colorful painted boards, including a portrait of Floyd, a large fist with the phrase "Power to the People," and a black cherub wearing boxing gloves and floating in space.
Zoom out: George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, where police officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd, is ensnared in a development battle about what to do with the streets around the memorial created after Floyd's death.
Washington, D.C., has dismantled its Black Lives Matter Plaza for what Mayor Muriel Bowser said will instead become an area celebrating America's 250th birthday, which is in 2026.
Context: Following the 2020 protests, activists also called for the dismantling of public art and monuments across the country, saying they reinforced white supremacy.
Most notable in Chicago was the removal of two Christopher Columbus statues, one of which the city plans to loan to the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.
The city created the Chicago Monuments Project to determine what to do with the other controversial public art.
Reality check: The group identified 41 objects that "privilege whiteness, social elites and the powerful above all other people" and recommended that several be placed in storage, but none have been, CBS reported this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
8 hours ago
- Axios
Violent crime in border cities fell below national rate in 2024
Several U.S. border communities saw violent crime drop below the national average in 2024, as nationwide rates fell to 20-year lows, according to new FBI data analyzed by Axios. Why it matters: The findings from last year run counter to claims by President Trump and GOP leaders, who painted border towns as crime hotspots because of newly arrived immigrants. The big picture: Eleven border cities examined annually by Axios — Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio and El Paso in Texas; Sunland Park in New Mexico; Nogales and Yuma in Arizona; and Calexico and San Diego in California — had an average violent crime rate of 356.5 per 100,000 residents. That was a sizable drop from 2023 and was slightly below the national average of 359.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents last year, FBI numbers show. Between the lines: The 11 border communities, all of them majority-Latino, had a homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 residents — half of the national average of 5 per 100,000. Four of the border cities — Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Sunland Park and Nogales — reported no homicides in 2024, the data show. El Paso and Yuma had the highest homicide rate among the border communities with 2.9 per 100,000, still well below the national average. The intrigue: McAllen — located across the Rio Grande from Reynosa, Mexico, one of the most dangerous places in the Americas — had one of the lowest violent crime rates on the border. Zoom out: The border communities had low crime rates before Trump took office, boosted border security and canceled millions of dollars in federal money for crime prevention programs. Early numbers for 2025 indicate that overall violent crime in the border cities is continuing to drop, as Trump's lockdown of the border has greatly reduced illegal crossings. Yes, but: Local officials fear that could change if the administration pulls back on anti-crime grants amid fights over immigration enforcement. The Trump administration is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants unless cities agree to work with federal immigration officials on mass deportations. El Paso has been an exception this year, experiencing a 42% jump in homicides in the first half of 2025, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). The intrigue: Some border cities, such as Laredo and Sunland Park, are dispatching AI-enhanced drones to help fight crime amid officer shortages. Flashback: Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeated false claims that migrants from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East were responsible for jumps in violent crime, despite studies showing violent crime was dropping.
San Francisco Chronicle
12 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
DC Mayor Bowser walks delicate line with Trump, reflecting the city's precarious position
NEW YORK (AP) — As National Guard troops deploy across her city as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to clamp down on crime, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is responding with relative restraint. She's called Trump's takeover of the city's police department and his decision to activate 800 members of the guard ' unsettling and unprecedented ' and gone as far as to cast his efforts as part of an 'authoritarian push.' But Bowser has so far avoided the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders, despite the unprecedented incursion into her city. 'While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can't say that, given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we're totally surprised,' Bowser told reporters at a press conference responding to the efforts. She even suggested the surge in resources might benefit the city and noted that limited home rule allows the federal government 'to intrude on our autonomy in many ways.' 'My tenor will be appropriate for what I think is important for the District," said Bowser, who is in her third term as mayor. "And what's important for the District is that we can take care of our citizens.' The approach underscores the reality of Washington, D.C.'s precarious position under the thumb of the federal government. Trump has repeatedly threatened an outright takeover of the overwhelmingly Democratic city, which is granted autonomy through a limited home rule agreement passed in 1973 that could be repealed by Congress. Republicans, who control both chambers, have already frozen more than a $1 billion in local spending, slashing the city's budget. That puts her in a very different position than figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Illinois Gov. B Pritzker, Democrats whose states depend on the federal government for disaster relief and other funding, but who have nonetheless relentlessly attacked the current administration as they lay the groundwork for potential 2028 presidential runs. Those efforts come amid deep frustrations from Democratic voters that their party has not been nearly aggressive enough in its efforts to counter Trump's actions. 'Unfortunately she is in a very vulnerable position,' said Democratic strategist Nina Smith. 'This is the sort of thing that can happen when you don't have the powers that come with being a state. So that's what we're seeing right now, the mayor trying to navigate a very tough administration. Because this administration has shown no restraint when it comes to any kind of constitutional barriers or norms." A change from Trump's first term Bowser's approach marks a departure from Trump's first term, when she was far more antagonistic toward the president. Then she routinely clashed with the administration, including having city workers paint giant yellow letters spelling out 'Black Lives Matter' on a street near the White House during the George Floyd protests in 2020. This time around, Bowser took a different tact from the start. She flew to Florida to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he won the election and has worked to avoid conflict and downplay points of contention, including tearing up the 'Black Lives Matter' letters after he returned to Washington in response to pressure from Republicans in Congress. The change reflects the new political dynamics at play, with Republicans in control of Congress and an emboldened Trump who has made clear he is willing to exert maximum power and push boundaries in unprecedented ways. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson said she understands Bowser's position, and largely agrees with her conclusion that a legal challenge to Trump's moves would be a long shot. Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in his executive order, declaring a 'crime emergency' so his administration could take over the city's police force. The statue limits that control to 30 days unless he gets approval from Congress. 'The challenge would be on the question of 'Is this actually an emergency?'' said Henderson, a former congressional staffer. 'That's really the only part you could challenge.' Henderson believes the city would face dim prospects in a court fight, but thinks the D.C. government should challenge anyway, 'just on the basis of precedent.' Trump told reporters Wednesday that he believes he can extend the 30-day deadline by declaring a national emergency, but said "we expect to be before Congress very quickly.' 'We're gonna be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days," he said. 'We're gonna do this very quickly. But we're gonna want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will.' Limited legal options Bowser's response is a reflection of the reality of the situation, according to a person familiar with her thinking. As mayor of the District of Columbia, Bowser has a very different relationship with the president and federal government than other mayors or governors. The city is home to thousands of federal workers, and the mass layoffs under DOGE have already had a major impact on the city's economy. Her strategy has been to focus on finding areas where she and the new administration can work together on shared priorities. For now, Bowser appears set to stick with her approach, saying Wednesday that she is focused on 'making sure the federal surge is useful to us.' During a morning interview with Fox 5, she and the city's police chief argued an influx of federal agents linked to Trump's takeover would improve public safety, with more officers on patrol. Police chief Pamela Smith said the city's police department is short almost 800 officers, so the extra police presence 'is clearly going to impact us in a positive way.' But Nina Smith, the Democratic strategist, said she believes Bowser needs a course correction. 'How many times is it going to take before she realizes this is not someone who has got the best interests of the city at heart?" she asked. 'I think there may need to be time for her to get tough and push back.' Despite Trump's rhetoric, statistics published by Washington's Metropolitan Police show violent crime has dropped in Washington since a post-pandemic peak in 2023. A recent Department of Justice report shows that violent crime is down 35% since 2023, reaching its lowest rate in 30 years.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Washington state dead last in U.S. police staffing
Washington state ranks last in law enforcement staffing for the 15th year in a row, according to FBI data analyzed by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC). Why it matters: Low staffing levels stretch departments thin, impact officer safety, slow response times and, according to law enforcement leaders, create a cycle that pushes more officers out of the profession. "Tired officers, running from call to call by themselves, are the worst possible outcome — for wellness, for victims, and for de-escalation," Steve Strachan, executive director of WASPC, tells Axios. Driving the news: WASPC released its annual Crime in Washington report on July 28, offering a state snapshot of crime and policing in 2024. By the numbers: Washington added 292 officers statewide last year and the number of officers per capita rose slightly from 1.34 in 2023 to 1.36, according to FBI data. But Washington is still in 51st place, behind all 50 states and D.C., according to WASPC's analysis. Zoom in: After losing 355 officers through resignations, retirements and other exits, the Seattle Police Department's force is growing for the first time in years. The city has hired more than 100 new recruits this year, with a goal of 150 by December — part of a push to rebuild toward around 1,300 deployable officers, according to the department. What they're saying:"Public safety is a core function of government, and for too long we have not treated it that way," Strachan says. There are always so many competing worthy programs and initiatives for public dollars, he said, and "a lack of understanding that we need both programs for prevention as well as accountability for criminals." The big picture: WASPC tells Axios it would cost more than $1 billion annually to bring Washington up to the national average for police staffing — based on the state Department of Commerce's $154,704 per-officer estimate. To lead the nation? Try 30,589 more officers — and nearly $5 billion a year.
