It has been 4 1⁄2 years since the south Minneapolis area around the site of George Floyd’s police killing organically evolved into a place of protest and reflection. And it’s remained largely unchanged since 2020.
Now, after two years of community workshops and a nine-month engagement process held this year, the city voted to move ahead with a plan to reconstruct the entire area in and around 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, despite complaints of citizens who attended the meeting.
The city’s plan will rebuild the area with new streets, green spaces, a raised traffic circle in the intersection, pedestrian street lighting, wider sidewalks, upgraded pedestrian ramps and narrower travel lanes but big enough to accommodate bus rapid transit service.
After Floyd’s killing, protests sprang up where he died outside what was then called Cup Foods, and protesters took control of the four-block area surrounding the intersection. Streets were closed to traffic and it evolved into an autonomous zone with little police intervention until June 2021, when the city removed concrete barriers and eventually reopened the street to traffic.
Construction would begin next year, after the five-year anniversary of Floyd’s killing. City officials did not have cost estimates.
The city also indicated they would like to have a nonprofit redevelop the “People’s Way,” a former Speedway gas station where protesters still meet regularly, into a community-centered space.
The city has no plans to disturb the “Say Their Names Cemetery” – a symbolic cemetery on a city-owned flood pond at 37th Street and Park Avenue South with headstones for Black people who lost their lives at the hands of the police.
“Mourning Passage” — a list of the names of people killed by police that is repainted on the street annually — would remain, though slightly north of its current location.
While calling the square “a sacred place,” the city’s plan would restore full vehicular access to the neighborhood, but traffic would be calmed with curb extensions, raised trail crossings, a raised intersection and wider sidewalks.
Community Vision
The city’s acknowledgment of continued “emotion” by citizens of the neighborhood over the city leading the work at the square was an understatement. At a town hall meeting held before the City’s vote, those in attendance called for a delay in moving forward with plans for the square, with some saying there weren’t enough Black voices involved.
The protestors called for more progress toward protesters’ original 24 “demands for justice,” which include requiring police officers to maintain private liability insurance and firing some leaders of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, before development proceeds, particularly at the People’s Way.
Jeanelle Austin, lead organizer of the event, questioned why the city prioritized street construction over community needs:
“What good is it to pour $5 million into new streets just for people to sleep on them?” she asked. Her words reflected the frustration many residents feel about the city’s approach, which they see as rushing forward with construction plans without taking enough time to address the more pressing needs of those living in the neighborhood.
Austin emphasized that the community is just beginning to heal, and rushing through the process risks losing sight of the deeper issues at play.