Three women were chastised in a video for removing graffiti from the Lafayette building in Washington, D.C. Thursday morning.
The video shows the three white women removing spray paint that reads “BLM,” short for “black lives matter.”
The “black lives matter” slogan is associated with protests that have spread across the country following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
The demonstrations have turned into riots in many places, including in D.C., where the rioters have looted businesses, vandalized buildings and set fires around the city.
Breaking: It’s now racist to clean up graffiti. pic.twitter.com/UzEKGoPaHq
— Digital Forests (@DigitalForests) June 4, 2020
The spray paint was left on the federal building that is home to the Export-Import Bank of the United States and some offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Three women are working to scrub it off when another woman drives up, starts filming and asks “why are you guys removing ‘black lives matter’ graffiti?”
One of the women says, “This is a federal building and we care about our country and our city.”
In response, the person filming replies, “So you don’t care about black lives, then.” (RELATED: White House Refuses To Address Why The Federal Government Did Not Protect The Monuments Honoring Our Nation’s Heroes From Rioters)
“That’s not at all what we’re saying … we certainly do care about black lives,” one woman responds. “We don’t disagree with the message, it’s just on the building, so we’re trying to clean it.”
“Not a great way to use your white privilege ladies,” the driver says, before stopping the video. “That’s disgusting.”
A series of photos taken after a night of riots and protests shows extensive damage to the Lafayette Park area, including graffiti and shattered glass.
The Lafayette building is one of many places in D.C. that was vandalized, including the World War II memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and several other places around the National Mall.