A group of Black Lives Matter protesters who planned to spray paint the phrase on the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a demonstration Friday will instead join the mayor to create the mural elsewhere during a city-sponsored event.
The decision comes after Mayor Marty Small worried the tourist attraction would be defaced by protesters and lead to confrontations between law enforcement and demonstrators during the planned event in front of Boardwalk Hall.
Small instead offered to paint the slogan -- a symbol of opposition to police brutality against Black people-- on the pavement of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in front of the city's Civil Rights Garden.
BLM organizer Steve Young accepted the proposal.
“We will not be painting anything on the Boardwalk,” Young told The Associated Press Thursday night. “We want everyone to stand with us in peace and non-violence.”
“We are proud to be part of the Black Lives Matter movement and part of that statement being made,” he said.
Young has had a strained relationship with city officials after they attempted to oust him from two city posts he holds because he was arrested during a protest, where he, among others, attempted to "shut the city down" by blocking the Atlantic City Expressway. The goal was to avoid casino reopenings during the July 4 weekend after several months of coronavirus lockdowns.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.