A bill introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday would rename the former Black Lives Matter Plaza site in Washington, D.C., after conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
If passed, H.R. 6578 — the “Charlie Kirk Freedom of Speech Plaza Act” — could stir new tensions between the District and the Trump administration over the name of the intersection at 16th Street NW between H and K streets.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced the bill three months to the day since Kirk’s assassination. Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September.
“Three months ago, we lost a champion of free speech and a voice for millions of young Americans,” Mace said in a statement about the bill. “Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an attack not just on one man, but on the fundamental American principle declaring every citizen has the right to speak freely and engage in civic discourse.”
According to the bill text included in Mace’s statement, any official reference to the intersection — such as on maps, in laws or in other governmental records — would be required to call it “Charlie Kirk Freedom of Speech Plaza.”
To ensure “high visibility” of the new name, Mace said, the bill would also require at least two signs, “similar in design to the signs used by the District of Columbia to designate the location of Metro stations,” to be placed near the plaza.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Members of that committee must discuss the bill and decide to refer it to the rest of the House for a vote before it has a chance at passage.
Mace’s bill aggravates a sore spot for many District locals, who were upset when D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on March 4 that the two-block-long, curb-to-curb “Black Lives Matter” letters would be painted over.
Black Lives Matter Plaza was created in 2020 as an act of defiance during Trump’s first term, when streets in D.C. and across the U.S. erupted with protests after the murder of George Floyd.
Bowser ordered the letters painted on 16th Street, just north of the White House, in 2020, and they remained there for four years.
But in March, in the face of pressure from a second Trump administration, Bowser was less defiant.
“We have long considered Black Lives Matter Plaza’s evolution and the plaza will be part of DC’s America 250 mural project, where we will invite students and artists to create new murals across all eight wards,” Bowser said on social media the day she announced the letters would be removed.
News4 has reached out to Bowser’s office for an update on that mural project.
“The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”
By the end of March, the letters marking Black Lives Matter Plaza were almost entirely gone.
The bill introduced by Mace also appears to pose a threat to D.C. Home Rule, going over the heads of the D.C. Council to rename the intersection.
The D.C. Council never officially removed the 2020 designation of that intersection. Although it’s not in official lettering and street signs, Black Lives Matter Plaza lives on in the text of D.C. Law 23-240, which has never been formally repealed.
It is unclear to what degree, if any, the D.C. Council would be involved in the renaming process.
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