Defund the Police + Reparations
Almost no murals with the phrases "defund the police" or "reparations" were sanctioned and nearly all were immidately removed. Notable exceptions included an officially permitted mural in Berkeley, CA reading "REPARATIONS NOW!" and an unsanctioned mural in Durham, NC reading "DEFUND" that was allowed to remain on the street in front of the police station for over a year due to "special circumstances".
Fatal Encounters and Murals
While many communities with histories of police violence participated in the trend, mural locations sometimes do not correlate with locations of fatal police encounters.
Mural Styles: Yellow Traffic Paint
Oakland was the first mural to replicate the standard yellow traffic paint style of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington DC. Over 65 murals used this style. Oakland notably added a hashtag ("#") to their mural, alluding to the online, as well as physical nature of this viral "meme".
Black Population
Murals were installed even in communities without a significant Black population, prompting conversations about broad appeal/participation vs cooptation. This phenomenon can be seen in Vermont, a state with a high number of murals, despite having the lowest percentage of Black population in the country.
Black Artists Matter
Charlotte, NC was the first city to put a twist on the DC mural by commissioning a different artist to complete each of the letters in BLACK LIVES MATTER. Dozens of cities would adopt this approach, showcasing (and paying) hundreds of often black community artists. A mural in Austin embody's this same trend reading BLACK ARTISTS MATTER.
Juneteenth Murals
At least 27 murals were installed on Friday, June 19th, 2020 during the Juneteenth holiday with another dozen installed on Saturday or Sunday that weekend.
New York City Murals
New York installed 9 murals, the most of any city.
Intersectionality / Remixing the Meme
The form of the BLM mural evolved to take on a variety of social justice causes from LGBTQIA rights, feminism, prisoners rights to housing justice to voting rights to educational justice to immigration justice to public health and the list goes on.
Black Towns Matter
Trends developed within the trend of BLM murals. In one prominent example, a coalition of "Freedman Settlements", historic communities founded and run by Black americans during a time of segregation and racial terrorism, created "Black Towns Matter" murals, such as the one in Independence Heights, a former Black Town since incorporated as a neighborhood of Houston. Visit blacktownsmatter.org
Murals Removed
Many unsanctioned murals were removed by government officials, often to the dismay of protesters. This was the case in Tulsa, OK where the BLACK LIVES MATTER mural installed on Greenwood Ave, the historic "Black Wall Street" and site of the infamous Tulsa Race Massacre.
Small Towns / Rural Places
While the trend started in big cities like Washington DC, many small towns and even rural communities participated as well. This trend can be seen in the small mountain town of Crested Butte, CO, with population just over 1,300.
Pan African Colors
Over 15 murals remixed the "yellow" aesthetic of DC's mural, instead adopting the red, black, and green color scheme of the Pan African flag. A mural in front of Dallas City hall was the first to use these colors.