Toni Washington // EEW Magazine Online // Black Lives Matter

The emotional skate routine of a gifted young figure skater who performed over the Black Lives Matter mural in Washington, DC, is gaining national attention.

Kaitlyn Saunders, 9, said her graceful tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement was inspired by the numerous injustices black people face in the United States of America.

"I want to replace the negative messages that people have in their minds with positive ones," Kaitlyn told CNN. "I feel free and powerful when I'm on the ice. Like I can fly and no one can stop me. I wish everyone could feel like that."

Though she usually performs on ice, coronavirus restrictions have temporarily closed down rinks. But Kaitlyn hasn’t allowed that to stop her art and activism. She quickly learned to use inline roller skates and headed to Black Lives Matter Plaza on June 8 just before sunrise to complete her routine.

Assisted by her parents, Kaitlyn recorded the performance while wearing a gorgeous white and yellow ensemble, gliding effortlessly on top of the painting to her favorite song, “Rise Up” by Andra Day and later sharing it on Instagram and Facebook.

The Black Lives Matter mural spans two blocks of 16th Street and features the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the painting by city workers and local artists is intended to send a message of support and solidarity to Americans outraged over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

Mayor Bowser also renamed the section of 16th Street featuring the artwork "Black Lives Matter Plaza," complete with a new street sign.

"My daughter has been watching neighbors, friends and people she's never met around the world stand up to inequality and injustice and say, 'You matter and we care,'" Katrice Saunders, Kaitlyn's mother, told CNN. "I want her to not only watch that movement grow and grow, but I want her to be an active contributor and force for change."

This is not Kaitlyn's first tribute performance. It is her fifth. In January, she skated to "Respect" by Aretha Franklin to advocate for diversifying the sport of figure skating. In February, she performed to "Freedom" by Beyoncé and "Freedom" by Pharrell Williams for Black History Month. In April, Kaitlyn skated to "Smile" by Lady Gaga in tribute to the frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CNN says, “Through skating, Kaitlyn hopes to spread joy and bring awareness to issues of justice and inequality—one routine at a time.”

Watch her skate below.