Rep. Nancy Mace has introduced a bill that would rename the former “Black Lives Matter Plaza” just north of the White House after assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The South Carolina Republican’s proposal would dedicate a small strip of 16th Street NW as “Charlie Kirk Freedom of Speech Plaza” in honor of the former thought leader who was gunned down during a campus speaking event.
“Today marks three months since Charlie Kirk was assassinated in cold blood,” Ms. Mace said in announcing the bill. “He was a peaceful leader who stood for free speech, open conversation, faith and family values.”
But D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat and the District’s nonvoting representative in Congress, said on social media that local leaders should decide the names of streets, not Congress.
“D.C. deserves to decide what its own streets are named since over 700,000 people live in the city,” Ms. Norton posted on X. “D.C. is not a blank slate for Congress to fill in as it pleases.”
City leaders first designated that portion of 16th Street as “Black Lives Matter Plaza” in 2020 amid nationwide protests after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, a Black man.
Ms. Mace said the Black Lives Matter protests wrought “chaos and destruction” compared to the “prayer, peace and unity” that emerged following Kirk’s death.
“The BLM movement is a terrorist organization who targeted our law enforcement, rioted in our streets, looted and burned cities to the ground,” Ms. Mace said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had a mural of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” painted in bright yellow over a two-block area on the street. The public art was seen as a jab at President Trump and his antagonism toward the protest movement.
But less than two months into Mr. Trump’s second term, Ms. Bowser ordered the public art to be removed. Her decision came shortly after Rep. Andrew Clyde, Georgia Republican, introduced a bill calling to withhold federal funding if the mural were allowed to remain.
Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, cited shifting priorities for her decision rather than threats from Capitol Hill.
She said fighting over the symbolic art distracted from efforts to raise the city’s revenues after the District’s coffers took a hit when Mr. Trump downsized the federal government. The mayor also said the mural was going to be scrubbed ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration in 2026.
Ms. Mace said the Black Lives Matter protests wrought “chaos and destruction” compared to the “prayer, peace and unity” that emerged following Kirk’s death.
She said the BLM movement was a “terrorist organization who targeted our law enforcement, rioted in our streets, looted and burned cities to the ground.”
The lawmaker said Kirk’s slaying, on the other hand, was an attack “on the fundamental American principle declaring every citizen has the right to speak freely and engage in civic discourse.”
“By designating this plaza in the heart of our nation’s capital, we ensure Charlie’s legacy and his unwavering commitment to the First Amendment will never be forgotten,” Ms. Mace said in a statement.
Her bill would require official signs to be erected on the plaza and for federal records and maps to be updated with the new name.
The new name would need to take effect 90 days after the legislation is signed into law.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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