The Black Lives Matter movement is facing a new reality in 2025, and ABC’s “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin isn’t taking it well.
Hostin became emotional on Thursday while expressing her disappointment over the removal of a prominent Black Lives Matter mural in Washington, D.C. The massive yellow-lettered display, which was painted on Black Lives Matter Plaza at the height of the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s death, has now been erased.
“I’m saddened by it because I think the Black Lives Matter movement has been co-opted, and they’re trying to erase it,” Hostin said during an episode of Behind the Table, a podcast for fans of The View. “It’s probably the second most important civil rights movement in American history.”
While Hostin did not specify who “they” are, the removal of the mural was carried out under the direction of Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The Democratic mayor, who originally commissioned the mural in 2020, confirmed earlier this year that she had it painted over following pressure from the White House.
“We have bigger fish to fry than fights over what has been very important to us and to history,” Bowser told NBC4 Washington. “Especially in our ability to keep our city safe during that time, that mural played a very important part. But now, our focus is on making sure our residents and our economy survive.”
Hostin was visibly upset by Bowser’s decision, calling it an erasure of history.
“I’m devastated by it because it’s the continuation of the erasure of American history,” Hostin said. She also name-dropped activist Alicia Garza, one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. “Alicia Garza wrote the letter that started the Black Lives Matter movement. She’s one of our thought leaders.”
Garza co-founded BLM alongside Patrisse Cullors, who faced controversy in 2022 when it was revealed that the organization purchased a $6 million Los Angeles mansion, which was later used for personal events. Cullors defended the purchase as a necessary investment for BLM’s leadership to conduct meetings and interviews in a secure location.
Despite the controversy, Hostin believes Bowser was pressured into taking down the mural and suggested the Trump administration played a role.
“Let’s be clear, this was extortion: ‘Take it down or lose federal funding.’ And we’re seeing that same thing at Columbia, and we’re going to continue to see that same type of extortion across the country.”
When asked if she blamed Mayor Bowser for the removal, Hostin replied, “No, I don’t.”
Hostin’s reaction is just the latest in a series of impassioned criticisms of former President Donald Trump and his administration. In November, she made headlines when she was forced to read a legal disclaimer on-air after implying that former Congressman Matt Gaetz was guilty of underage prostitution. During a commercial break, producers handed her a note clarifying that the Biden Justice Department had declined to bring charges against Gaetz due to a lack of evidence.
As the political landscape continues to shift, the Black Lives Matter movement faces an uncertain future. The removal of its most prominent public symbol in the nation’s capital may signal a changing tide, but for Hostin and others, the fight is far from over.