Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Councilman Mario Benavente’s reasoning behind a motion to remove a “Black Lives Do Matter” mural from around the Market House.
The Fayetteville City Council discussed an initiative to improve pedestrian and vehicle traffic around the Market House, which included talks of removing a street mural that declares “Black Lives Do Matter.” The Sept. 3 work session featured a presentation from city staff with two options aimed at enhancing safety and traffic flow.
City staff asked for the council’s direction to move forward with a comprehensive traffic impact analysis, focusing on the area surrounding the Market House. Some council members said that the community’s input from previous surveys regarding the Market House repurposing project and downtown mural was not taken into consideration before the final plan went into effect.
The Market House has been at the center of controversy because of its history as a site where enslaved people were sold. There has also been one documented case of a Black man, Archie Beebe, lynched there in 1867 .