When Muriel Bowser was running for District of Columbia mayor six years ago, she told the Washington Post that having the eyes of the city trained on her was “unnatural”. But the African-American mayor could never have imagined the spotlight she would face over the past two weeks in the US capital.
As an antiracism movement has erupted across the US following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, Ms Bowser has felt both compelled and empowered to take on President Donald Trump over his handling of the protests in Washington.
After federal police tear-gassed peaceful protesters to allow Mr Trump to walk to a church near the White House for a photo-op, she commissioned huge letters spelling out the words “Black Lives Matter” to be painted in yellow along two blocks of road nearby and renamed the area “Black Lives Matter Plaza”.