Black Lives Matter Archives - TPR: The Public's Radio

Joanne Chesimard, who used the name Assata Shakur and was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, leaves Middlesex County courthouse, in New Brunswick, N.J., April 25, 1977. (AP Photo/File)

NPR

Assata Shakur, a fugitive Black militant sought by the U.S. since 1979, dies in Cuba

by The Associated Press September 26, 2025September 26, 2025

Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist who was given political asylum in Cuba after her 1979 escape from a U.S. prison, has died. Officials in New Jersey, where Shakur had been arrested, convicted and imprisoned, said she was 78.

Photo of Black Lives Matter plaza and mural taken on Friday, March 7, 2025. Reconstruction on D.C.'s Black Lives Matter plaza began this morning. The 50-foot long street mural spelling out Black Lives Matter on 16th Street was created during the 2020 protests following the police killing of George Floyd. According to a DDOT statement, work on the plaza will take six to eight weeks to complete. Mayor Bowser said that 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."

NPR

City crews have begun painting over the ‘Black Lives Matter’ street mural in D.C.

by Ayana Archie March 10, 2025March 10, 2025

In June 2020, the phrase “Black Lives Matter” had been painted on the pavement by the city in uppercase, yellow letters, covering two blocks on 16th Street, about a quarter mile from the White House.

Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street is repainted following the removal of the lettering for a construction project on May 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. The words "Black Lives Matter" was painted on the two block section of 16th Street last year in the wake of the George Floyd protest.

NPR

D.C.’s Black Lives Matter mural will be erased. Look back at the iconic street painting

by Juliana Kim March 8, 2025March 8, 2025

Over the past five years, Washington, D.C.’s iconic Black Lives Matter street painting has served as a powerful symbol of activism and a gathering place for joy and resistance.

Episode, On Sports

Dennis Coleman remembers John Thompson

by Michael Szostak September 7, 2020December 5, 2023

The Georgetown basketball coach stood for what is right.

The Providence Police cruiser that was set on fire near the entrance to the Providence Place mall during a night of looting and destruction June 1.

Politics

A night of flames and fury

by Amanda Milkovits, Lynn Arditi and Antonia Ayres-Brown July 1, 2020January 18, 2024

It would be easy to dismiss the agitators and looters who destroyed so much in Providence the night of June 1 as outside provocateurs. The reality is more complicated.

Article, Politics

PHOTOS: Providence youth rally on Juneteenth for racial justice

by Nadine Sebai June 20, 2020December 5, 2023

The Providence Juneteenth Rally drew hundreds of high-school students on Friday. The rally called for a dismantling of local and state police and more funding for mental health care, education, and youth programs.

Article, Politics

‘We’re fighting for our lives’: Thousands protest police brutality and racial injustice in Providence

by Joe Tasca June 14, 2020January 18, 2024

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Sunday’s demonstration at the Rhode Island State House was hosted by the youth group “Gen Z: We Want to Live.”

About 60 demonstrators peacefully protested in New Bedford on Wednesday. The group, demanding justice for the police-involved shooting of 15-year old Malcolm Gracia, has been spearheaded by some of the city's teenagers and millennials.

Article

‘Stand with us’: New Bedford protestors demand solidarity from local police

by Nadine Sebai June 4, 2020December 5, 2023

Protests have been going on daily in New Bedford, demanding justice in the wake of the death of George Floyd. New Bedford mayor Jon Mitchell and the city’s police chief spoke with Black Lives Matter protesters Wednesday in an attempt to ease tensions.