Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection

Tiara Thomas
Photo on yellow paper in a clear binder sleeve with the name 'Tiara Thomas' and the date 'Nov. 2015' above the picture. Along the bottom of the paper is the text '#SayHerName'.
Title
Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection
Date Created
2021-01-01
Note
This collection contains strong language, references to police brutality, and violent imagery.
Abstract
The Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection consists of posters, banners, clothing, photographs, and ephemeral objects attached to the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence (BLM Fence) surrounding Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C, from June 2020 to January 2021. The artifacts were attached to the fence to protest the treatment of Black and Brown communities by police and address various social issues, including racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, women's rights, immigration, international human rights violations, nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, the 2020 presidential campaign, politicians, and elections. Activists turned the fence into a memorial, an art project, and an outpouring of grief. The BLM Fence suffered vandalism, including near destruction on October 30, 2020. The surviving artifacts were collected by activists and reattached to the new BLM Fence, which remained standing until January 30, 2021. People came from all over D.C. and the United States to add artifacts to the BLM Fence and pay their respects to victims of police brutality. The artifacts were curated and cared for by activists Nadine Seiler and Karen Irwin. Librarian and archivist Aliza Leventhal assisted Ms. Seiler and Ms. Irwin in collecting and inventorying the artifacts from the BLM Fence.

The Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection is a partnership between DC Public Library, Enoch Pratt Free Library, The Library of Congress, and Howard University. The artifacts were collected and donated by Nadine Seiler and Karen Irwin with assistance from Aliza Leventhal. Enoch Pratt Free Library completed the digitization of the artifacts. Metadata of the artifacts was completed by staff at the DC Public Library and members of the public. A portion of the artifacts are housed at Howard University and may be viewed through Digital Howard.

The artifacts in this collection are arranged in alphabetical order. Original spellings and capitalizations have been retained in the descriptions of the artifacts. Some artifacts contain content on both the front and the back. Those artifacts are grouped, and both items are reflected in the title (example: Black lives matter / Enough ). Click on an artifact to see both sides of the item. To keep as many of the original artifacts in one digital location as possible, included in this collection are 38 artifacts from the BLM Fence collected by the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The source of these Library of Congress artifacts is noted in the description.

Help us make the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection as accurate as possible! If you see information that needs to be updated, please email us at peoples.archive@dc.gov.
Neighborhood
Downtown, Washington, D.C.
City
Washington, D.C.
Subject
Protest posters
Black lives matter movement
Black persons
African Americans
Police brutality
LGBTQIA+ rights
Women's rights
Emigration and immigration
Politics and government
Human rights
Local identifier
blmf
Rights Information
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/
No Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Only
The collection donors have made this collection material available for educational use. The collection materials should not be used for commercial activities and derivative works should not be made.