How city BLM art and changing politics intertwine
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Austin Transportation crews touched up the Black Artists Matter painting on East 11th Street in June 2021. Photo: City of Austin
Many Black Lives Matter murals painted about three years ago on city streets have faded or vanished altogether.
Why it matters: Cities across the country, including Austin, rushed to put up art following the 2020 murder of George Floyd to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Driving the news: Support for the Black Lives Matter movement has decreased since Floyd's murder, according to a recent survey.
- A slim majority of Americans (51%) still back BLM, but the movement aimed at dismantling systemic racism has seen a sharp drop in support amid conservative backlash and reports of infighting and financial mismanagement.
- At the peak of the movement, following Floyd's murder, two-thirds of Americans said they supported the movement.
Flashback: Texans have been sharply divided about the movement, with 58% of Republicans registering a "very unfavorable" view of Black Lives Matter and 4% "very favorable" in June 2020, per a University of Texas poll.
- The figures were basically the opposite for Democrats, with 53% saying they had a "very favorable" view and 3% a "very unfavorable" view.
Between the lines: Gov. Greg Abbott has said he would pardon a man convicted in April of killing an Austin Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- Abbott has asked his pardons board to issue a recommendation before he proceeds.
Zoom in: "Black Austin Matters" was painted in June 2020 in massive letters on Congress Avenue as a temporary art installation to recognize the city's Black community.
- The city also authorized a "Black Artists Matter" temporary installation on East 11th Street around the same time. Both were installed ahead of Juneteenth.
- The Black Austin Matters painting on Congress was milled and overlayed as part of scheduled resurfacing in December 2022, Austin transportation department spokesperson Jeff Stensland tells Axios.
- The Black Artists Matter installation still exists and was touched up before Juneteenth in 2021
Of note: A BLM painting on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower in Manhattan in 2020 became a political flashpoint when then-President Trump called the planned move a "symbol of hate." It has largely faded away in the intervening years.
- Charlotte's colorful BLM mural also faded away over time after the city opened up the street to traffic in late 2020.