Phoenix may be the latest city to have a "Black Lives Matter" mural painted on a city street.
Activists have proposed a mural that would include the "Black Lives Matter" statement as well as portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., César Estrada Chávez and former U.S. Rep. John Robert Lewis.
The group would like the mural painted on a street near Talking Stick Resort Arena downtown.
"If we want unity and inclusiveness, why not put it in a neighborhood where everybody goes?" said Gizette Knight, the organizer of the mural effort.
Knight organized a Juneteenth celebration and vigil for Lewis after his July death and has participated in many other social justice marches and rallies in Phoenix this year.
"We're marching and we're marching and we're marching," Knight said. "What do we do now?"
Knight said she believes a Black Lives Matter street mural, such as the ones painted in many other U.S. cities, should be the next big project for the community to promote unity.
Knight designed the proposed mural and submitted it to the city.
She's collected more than 2,500 signatures in support of the mural on Change.org.
Mural would be part of pilot program
Currently, Phoenix does not allow murals on streets.
The Phoenix Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee will meet Wednesday to discuss whether to launch a street mural pilot program.
The program would allow artists to install the Black Lives Matter mural as a pilot to see whether the city wants to allow a widespread street mural program.
If the pilot program is approved, the community group will be responsible for the cost of installation and upkeep. Knight said she's already raised $6,000, which should be enough for installation and a full year of upkeep. She's already found five local artists willing to install the mural, she said.
The program ultimately will have to be approved by the full Phoenix City Council later this year.
If approved, city staff will monitor the initial street mural for safety, liability and durability concerns and then bring a recommendation back to the council later this year about whether to continue to allow street murals.
Street murals have caused problems
City staff members are concerned about street murals for a handful of legal and safety issues, according to the council agenda packet.
Staff reported that the mural could distract or confuse drivers who are not expecting to see a mural in the street, which could lead to more collisions.
The mural also could draw more pedestrians to the area who want to view or photograph the mural, which could increase the likelihood of pedestrian-related collisions, according to the staff report.
If these collisions resulted in injury or death, the city could be liable because of the "non-standard markings" on the street, according to the report.
Street murals in other cities have also resulted in legal disputes over who is and isn't allowed to paint murals in the streets.
In New York City, Blue Lives Matter NYC sued Mayor Bill de Blasio after the city denied the group's request to paint a "Blue Lives Matter" mural, according to Spectrum News. The city previously allowed a "Black Lives Matter" mural to be painted.
A similar spat broke out in Tucson. The city allowed a "Black Lives Matter" mural on a street in downtown Tucson.
Weeks later, a group called Back the Blue Tucson requested a permit to draw a "thin blue line" outside Tucson Police Department headquarters. The Tucson city manager originally approved the request but revoked the permit after pushback by Mayor Regina Romero, according to KOLD News 13.
"Requests from white supremacists have no place on our city streets," Romero tweeted.
Organizers with Back the Blue Tucson told KOLD News 13 the group was considering legal recourse.
Reach the reporter at jessica.boehm@gannett.com or 480-694-1823. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS.
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'Black Lives Matter' could be painted on a street in downtown Phoenix - The Arizona Republic
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