A Black mother who lost her son before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement says the removal of BLM Plaza in our nation’s capital is a sign the country is in a bad place.

Ahmaud Arbery‘s mom, Wanda Cooper Jones, tells TMZ … the removal of the BLM mural in Washington, D.C. “feels like a bad omen” and she says it serves as “a reminder of how fragile progress can be.”

Wanda says BLM was never about murals, monuments, or symbolic gestures … it’s always been about accountability, justice and meaningful change — but she doesn’t like the change being made here.

As we reported … Jamie Foxx says Black American social efforts are taking a step back as a result of President Trump pressuring D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to remove the mural under threat of losing federal funding.

Arbery was murdered in February 2020 while out for a run in Georgia … and video of his murder at the hands of 3 white men sparked widespread outrage.

BLM really took off after George Floyd was murdered by a white cop months later, sparking summer protests nationwide … but Arbery’s case remains a big part of the movement … as does Breonna Taylor‘s death. The Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown killings also prompted the early beginnings of the BLM cause.

Lee Merritt, an attorney who has worked with the families of Arbery, Floyd and Taylor, tells TMZ … “Justice isn’t measured in murals — it’s measured in laws, accountability, and protecting Black lives.”