As Washingtonians continue to fight federal attacks against the District’s already limited home rule, and now navigate the challenging effects of the government shutdown, murals have become ways of highlighting and preserving D.C. culture.

The walls of Washington speak, telling the truth about who this city really is.

From U Street to Shaw, The Wharf to Anacostia, the District’s murals are not mere paintings, but rise as acts of defiance and prayer.

“Every brushstroke seems like a protest,” Arihanna Khan, a Capitol Hill resident, said, quoting one muralist. “You can’t silence a mural. You can try, but it will still be there in the morning.”

In the Shaw neighborhood, where Black culture has long stood as the city’s soul, murals climb from brick and concrete like hymns. Duke Ellington ga

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