By Jack Ruppert
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in a violent altercation in which officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes. Almost immediately following this, protests erupted in Minneapolis, and began to spring up across the U.S. and, eventually, the world. At the center of the protests was the intersection where Floyd had been killed, 38th and Chicago, which was quickly renamed George Floyd Square in his honor. The square served as a gathering point for both activists and mourners, and its significance as a symbol of the protest movement cannot be understated. However, as these protests have continued, debates around reopening the square have raised questions around who has the rights to decide how it is used.
As someone who lives one block away from the city of Minneapolis, these demonstrations sat very close to home for me, both literally and figuratively. The situation at George Floyd Square continues to be an interesting one when one asks the question of who has the right to continue to hold that land. When the protesters originally occupied the square, it was used as both a gathering point for the protests, and a place of mourning for both George Floyd, and the many other people of color who had been targeted unjustly by police violence. People came to leave flowers, make art, and call for change. Demonstrators originally created makeshift barriers at the ends of each of the streets connected to George Floyd square, creating a space one block square. These actions could be seen as a way of founding the place of George Floyd Square. The city of Minneapolis soon erected their own barriers in order to keep people safe from vehicles (The Learning Network, 2021). For the rest of the year, and into January 2021, the city seemed content to allow the occupation of the square to continue. However, in early February 2021, the city of Minneapolis announced that it would seek to reopen the square following the trial of Derek Chauvin, scheduled to begin later that March (Reeves, 2021). Many sides began to weigh in on both the process of reopening the square, and whether the square should even be reopened in the first place.
The protesters still maintaining the square – by holding events, and installing planters, statues and other art – are obviously in favor of continuing the occupation. In August of 2020, the demonstrators at the square released a list of 24 demands that they wanted the city of Minneapolis to meet before they would agree to open up the square (Allen, 2021). Some of these demands include the convictions of Derek Chauvin and his fellow police officers, defunding of the police, and removal of some prominent Minneapolis government workers who protesters say have supported the abuse of police power (Reeves, 2021).
The city is on the opposite end of the spectrum; Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo stated on March 18th that “The best public safety remedy right now is to open up and get that intersection flowing again.” (KSTP, 2021) Due to the target of the protests, police have not been welcomed in George Floyd Square during demonstrations. Arradondo and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited an increase in crime in the surrounding neighborhood as justification for reopening the square, including “a 240% increase in robberies and 378% increase in assaults.” (KSTP, 2021) However, protesters argue that this simply reflects a nationwide increase in crime throughout 2020 and 2021. (Holder & Akinnibi, 2021) According to them, these statistics just represent an excuse for the city to close the square without meeting their demands.
Another constituency with a stake in this discussion are the residents and business owners within George Floyd Square and its surrounding areas. Powderhorn Park, the neighborhood of Minneapolis where the square is located, is a mainly minority community. Some residents argue that the occupation of the square, although it was intended to raise costs to force the city to meet protesters demands, has only harmed members of the community. “Not only did George Floyd end up losing his life, but the community wound up paying for it as well.” said Adrian Anderson, a resident of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood. (The Learning Network, 2021) During 2020, business owners in and around George Floyd Square lost 70% of their revenue, although some of this loss may have been related to the pandemic rather than the protests. (KSTP, 2021)
In early June, the city tried twice, along with community organization Agape, to remove the barriers surrounding George Floyd Square. During both of these, removal of the barriers began very early in the morning, and without informing either the protesters, or the residents of the square and surrounding area. After both of these attempts, protesters simply replaced the city’s barriers with makeshift barriers of their own. The square still remains closed to traffic today.
All of this raises the question of who should have the right to decide what happens to George Floyd Square. Should the city of Minneapolis, who technically has the rights to the streets, be able to have complete control over what happens in the square? Or have they forfeited this right to the protesters, through their violent actions against George Floyd and other people of color? Alternatively, the long-time residents of the square and the neighborhood could be considered to have the best claim over George Floyd Square. The final answer will probably contain some input from all three of these groups. Regardless, the case of George Floyd Square offers many interesting insights into the question of rights to a place, and the difficulty of mediating between these various claims.
Sources:
Reeves, Mel. 2021. “George Floyd Square to Reopen after March Trial.” Spokesman-Recorder, February 17, 2021. https://spokesman-recorder.com/2021/02/17/george-floyd-square-to-reopen-after-march-trial/
KSTP. 2021. “Minneapolis City Leaders Continue Discussion of Reopening George Floyd Square.” KSTP-TV, March 18, 2021. https://kstp.com/news/minneapolis-city-leaders-continue-discussion-of-reopening-george-floyd-square-march-18-2021/6046857/
The Learning Network. 2021. “Film Club: ‘Inside the Battle Over George Floyd Square.’” The New York Times, April 1, 2021, updated June 3, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/learning/film-club-inside-the-battle-over-george-floyd-square.html
Allen, Jonathan. 2021. “After Landmark Policing Trial, a Debate over Reopening George Floyd Square.” Reuters, April 23, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/after-landmark-policing-trial-debate-over-reopening-george-floyd-square-2021-04-23/
Holder, Sarah and Fola Akinnibi. 2021. “Minneapolis Dismantled Barriers at George Floyd Square. Activists Put up New Ones.” Bloomberg, June 3, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-03/activists-take-back-george-floyd-square-again
