Crews remove barriers, memorials at George Floyd Square

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Crews have removed concrete barriers, artwork, flowers and other items from a Minneapolis intersection that became a sprawling memorial to George Floyd, whose death last year at the hands of police galvanized the racial justice movement.

It took the city crews less than four hours on Thursday morning to clear the intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, informally known as George Floyd Square. The intersection has been closed to traffic since the 46-year-old Black man was killed there on May 25, 2020.

The community group Agape, which contracted with the city to keep watch over the area, coordinated the clearing of the intersection, according to city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie. A fist sculpture, which stands several feet tall, will remain, McKenzie said.

Some neighborhood residents and others had expressed frustration that the intersection has been closed to private and transit vehicles for nearly a year. Traffic briefly flowed through the intersection Thursday morning after the concrete barriers were removed, but community members quickly erected new makeshift barriers. Dozens of people gathered near the intersection, singing, chanting Floyd’s name and giving speeches expressing frustration and urging people to continue organizing.

Steve Floyd, one of Agape’s founders, said the group coordinated with the city to remove the barriers, garbage cans and portable toilets starting at 4:30 a.m.

Floyd, who is not related to George Floyd, said his group was in talks with the city for about three months to figure out how to reopen the intersection. He said he admires the demonstrators' efforts in maintaining the square but that they had to engage the city in that process “instead of letting them come in here with bulldozers.”

“As far as controlling this and maintaining it, that’s a noble job. We don’t disrespect the protesters, everything can stay the same,” he said. “They can still do it. But we just let them in here to fix what we have and develop it.”

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air while handcuffed face down on the street.

Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyd’s civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest.

The three other former Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest and death were also charged with federal civil rights violations. They await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts.

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Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.