NEW YORK (US) – The mayor of New York along with activists painted “Black Lives Matter” in giant yellow letters on the city’s Fifth Avenue on Thursday in front of Trump Tower.
Watched by doormen of the luxury apartment building, Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, along with Reverend Al Sharpton, who heaped praised on George Floyd in Minneapolis last month, joined activists wearing masks to paint the mural.
Manhattan resident Betty Kubovy-Weiss, 16, said her task of painting the “V” and “E” of “LIVES” was aimed at tackling the “negativity and violence” of the Trump administration.
“Black Lives Matter is an important statement in and of itself. Our president has generally been highly critical of the movement in a way that I think is very dangerous and damaging to our nation,” Kubovy-Weiss said.
Last week, President Trump tweeted that the mural was a “symbol of hate.”
Trump told Fox News on Thursday night that owners of business establishments along Fifth Avenue are “furious” at the mural.
Trump, who changed his primary residence from Manhattan to Florida in September said people are leaving the city because of the way it is run.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field