A group of artists projecting messages on local historic buildings say they are protesting the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and civil rights, as well as commemorating Boston’s revolutionary history.
Several messages were projected onto the facade of the Old State House on Tuesday night, according to Diane Dwyer, a member of the group. The messages were intended to “remind us of our enduring revolutionary spirit in the face of injustice,” she said in an email.
One of the messages read “Boston Doesn’t Back Down,” in reference to Wu’s statement in a press conference Tuesday, before her testimony in a congressional hearing on immigration, that she would “never back down” from a chance to defend Boston on the national stage.
Wu’s appearance before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday, her first time testifying before Congress, saw some testy exchanges with Republican lawmakers, though the mayor emerged from the six-hour hearing relatively unscathed.
Another message, in reference to comments made by Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, said “You can’t bring hell to Boston. It’s been waiting for you since 1770.” A third read simply, “We have a good track record with tyrants.”
The Old State House was chosen specifically for its association with the Boston Massacre, Dwyer said. Wednesday is the 255th anniversary of the massacre.
Working under the name Silence Dogood, after the pseudonym used by a young Benjamin Franklin, the group of artists plans similar projections at either Faneuil Hall or the Boston Harbor area later this week, Dwyer said.
In a statement, “Silence Dogood” said that Boston’s commitment to liberty and opposition to tyranny has “remained eternal” since the age of the American Revolution.
“Our residents have long stood against injustice and taken action to right it,” the group said.
The group also quoted founding father Samuel Adams of Boston, who wrote in 1780 that if ever “vain and aspiring men” take power in the US, ”our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
“Those most experienced patriots are Bostonians,” the group said in the statement. “To all who call Boston home: you belong here. To all who question our ‘eternal enmity to tyranny,’ read a history book.”
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
