Washington DC Black Lives Matter Mural Visible From Space

The company says it aims to 'image the entire Earth every day and make global change visible'.

The whopping mural was painted on Sixteenth Street, which leads to the White House. Each letter is reportedly 35ft and the words take up the full width of the road - it was painted last week by council workers and volunteers following an instruction from Mayor Muriel Bowser.

John Falcicchio, the chief of staff for Mayor Bowser, took to Twitter to explain why the mayor made the decision to paint the mural.

He wrote: "There was a dispute this week about whose street this is. Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC's street and to honour demonstrators who [were] peacefully protesting on Monday evening."

Mayor Bowser also announced on Friday that part of street would be renamed as Black Lives Matter Plaza - she said: "We want to call attention today to making sure our nation is more fair and more just and that black lives and black humanity matter in our nation."

Speaking to reporters after unveiling the new street sign, she said: "As Washingtonians, we simply all want to be here together in peace to demonstrate that in America, you can peacefully assemble, you can bring grievances to your government, and you can demand change."

However, the DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter Global Network has criticised the gesture.

In a tweet, the group wrote: "This is a preformative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police."

Thousands of protesters are thought to be turning out in Washington DC today - similar protests have taken place across the globe as people take to the streets following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.