Years after the uprising, protests, and violence following the murder of George Floyd, there are still echoes. Whether through emotive art, abandoned buildings, empty lots, signs of protest, or boarded-up windows, or if nothing, memories carry the history. The Twin Cities hold the sadness of death, the sadness of an inability to change, and it is felt in the breeze, making it hard to breathe freely. Yet, we forget or at least try to forget what makes it so hard to breathe.
This multimedia piece is an acknowledgment of the sadness and the anger. A before and after of the many places that were affected by the uprisings, what they looked like in 2019, 2020, and now. How does it feel to live in a place where the earth, the walls, and the air hold a memory of so much tragedy?
This map shows the 6 locations that I chose to use for this anthology, all 6 were greatly impacted by the 2020 uprisings. Use this map to get a full picture of the locations that I talk about throughout this piece and their relationship to each other. If you want, you can also use the map as a way to go through all the separate sections by clicking on the points.
George Floyd Square
Image Credit: left- Google Street View, middle- Dion Crushshon
On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by white police officer, Derek Chauvin. His death sparked a movement throughout the world, protesting the police brutality that too often targets and takes Black lives. As time passed the intersection where he died was a place of protest, gathering, celebration, and memorization. On the 2nd anniversary of his murder, it was renamed George Perry Floyd Square, where many still go to remember George Floyd along with other Black people who unjustly lost their lives to law enforcement in the following years. Breonna Taylor. Daunte Wright.
East Lake Street and Chicago Strip
Image Credit: left- Google Street View, middle- flicker: Loveoflanguage
On the corner of East Lake Street and Chicago Ave, stood a strip mall containing, T-Mobile, Urban 29, Foot Locker, and Lake Street Tobacco as well as Chicago Community Warehouse and Community Safety Center. On May 30th, along with many other buildings, it was burned to rubble. An empty lot remains, with a few planter boxes and a sign advertising the “recovery and redevelopment” of Lake Street.
In December 2020 the Healthy Lake Street Fund gave $750,000 in grant money to 10 small businesses. This money was supposed to help the reopening and relocations of these Lake Street businesses to help support the community’s well-being. Despite this, many lots, such as this one, lie open and other buildings are dark and boarded up.
City of Minneapolis Arcgis map showing Minneapolis businesses damaged during the uprisings in the wake of George Floyd’s death, 2020
The location of this uprising is particularly important. White supremacist buildings and houses, white communities, and government buildings were not targeted, though they are representative of the racist systems that oppress Black bodies. The majority of damage took place on Lake Street (located where the majority of the red dots are), which has a predominantly East African and Latine immigrant community. Many of the places that were looted and burned were small businesses and buildings, important to the well-being of Black and Brown communities. As a result of the systemic racism that has again and again been exhibited through the unjust murder of Black people, there is a sort of self-harm and self-imploding that takes place.
The systems this country is built on are fucked up, many of the people who have power in this country are fucked up and there is very little Black people have been able to do. The clearest portrayal of the extent to which Black people are hurting is when this anger results in self-imploding and harming our communities of color. We are angry and we are hurting, CAN YOU SEE THAT? What do you do when peaceful protests and “trusting” the law don’t work? A reason why this uprising gained global attention was because it was so clear that the Twin Cities were hurting in response to police brutality and racism.
East Lake Street has historically been a location for immigrants and minority groups. First, it was Germans, then Scandinavians, and now in 2024, there is a large Latino and East African population. It’s a cultural gemstone, and because of this, it has been the victim of underfunding and suburban flight.
In the late 1960s highway I35W was constructed and did not include a Lake Street exit. The lack of access, along with the increase of Black people moving north in the Great Migration and White people wanting to own a home, caused White businesses and residents to flee Lake Street, moving to the suburbs. Latinx and East African immigrants seeking cost-effective housing and opportunities to open small businesses, moved to East Lake Street. With this, racial tensions increased, police mistreatment increased and funding decreased.
Uprisings don’t come out of nowhere. Inequality. Discrimination. Fear. Broken Systems. Stuckness. Fucked up-ness. Grief. All breed and justify resistance.
Photo credit: Forbes – AFP via Getty Images, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis
Minneapolis Police Third Precinct
Image credits: left- Google Street View, middle- APM reports
Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd, worked from the third precinct in Minneapolis, so, many protests took place outside its doors. In response to the protests and during the uprisings, the department made a couple of controversial decisions.
At first, they spent a lot of time “protecting” and defending the 3rd precinct, leaving the neighborhood mostly unprotected. Many places across the greater Twin Cities were burned and looted over those nights. Additionally, when the protests following George Floyd’s murder started, they were mostly peaceful. However, police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Then, around 10:30 pm on May 28th, 2020, as decided by the police chief and mayor of Minneapolis, police abandoned the precinct. Police fled running and driving away from the scene. Some protesters feared being trampled in the rush. Shortly after the police left, the precinct was set on fire.
The city is spending around $14 million to buy a new building and parking lot, located at 2633 Minnehaha Ave, to convert into a new station. This building is planned to not only hold the new third precinct but it will be called South Minneapolis Community Safety Center, and hold other community services as well. There are plans to clean up the old precinct in the spring of 2024 and convert it into a community center.
Photo credit: PBS
The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge
Photo credits: left- Google Street View, middle- flicker: Colin Hausman
Hook and Ladder is inside a historic building that served as a fire department until 1943 but is now used as a multipurpose event center. After police evacuated the 3rd precinct on May 28th, people broke into the old sturdy building, looted, and tried to set it on fire, but the sprinklers and cut electrical cords weakened the attack. According to a StarTribune article written in 2020 by Chris Riemenschneider, the various contractors of the theater felt lucky that the building was able to survive unlike other businesses near them, and planned to help the community before reopening for shows.
Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s Bookstore
Photo credits: left- Google Street View, middle- David Dyer-Bennet
On the night of May 30th, 2020, Don Blyly’s bookstore was set ablaze. The flames engulfed the building, its books, and all the various collectibles inside. Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s bookstore had been in that location since 1974. In a Kare 11 article written in 2022, Don Blyly explained that it was clearly not done by the people responding to what happened to George Floyd, because it looked like a pro job. “…Someone had gone along to each and every one of the plate glass windows and punched a hole this big around and injected accelerant in and lit each of the holes.”
A GoFundMe made by his children, raised over $200,000 which shows how important his bookstore is to his customers. That money along with help from insurance helped them relocate to their current location off Lake Street and Minnehaha Ave. In 2024, four years later, the new location is open, and the bookstore has recently put up the last of its bookshelves.
Say Their Names Cemetery
Photo credits: left- Google Street View
Following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, artists Connor Wright and Anna Barber put up an art installation memorializing the 100+ Black people who have been killed because of police brutality and other hate crimes. Years later the art installation has taken an even greater meaning, with families and others in mourning, visiting to place flowers and love. Through the winter some gravestones have been damaged but signs promise a renewal is soon to come.
Sources and Citations
FOX 9. “Map Shows Approximately 700 Buildings Damaged in Minneapolis Riots.” FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, 17 June 2020, www.fox9.com/news/map-shows-approximately-700-buildings-damaged-in-minneapolis-riots.
“Arson Damage during the George Floyd Protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Apr. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arson_damage_during_the_George_Floyd_protests_in_Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul#:~:text=The%20Minneapolis%20Police%20Department’s,night%20of%20May%2028%2C%202020.&text=Oscar%20Lee%20Stewart%20Jr.&text=Authorities%20tracked%20164%20separate%20structure,locations%20were%20affected%20by%20arson.
Caputo, Angela, et al. “What Happened at Minneapolis’ 3rd Precinct – and What It Means.” “The Precinct Is on Fire” | APM Reports, APM Reports, 4 May 2022, www.apmreports.org/story/2020/06/30/what-happened-at-minneapolis-3rd-precinct.
Eischens, Rilyn. “One Year Later, Few Charges for the Arson and Destruction • Minnesota Reformer.” Minnesota Reformer, 2 June 2021, minnesotareformer.com/2021/05/27/one-year-later-few-charges-for-the-arson-and-destruction/.
Group of Faculty and Students from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. “George Floyd and ANTI-RACIST Street Art Archive.” George Floyd & Anti-Racist Street Art, georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Max. “Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis Burned down during Riots, Gofundme Open.” Unusual Things, 2 June 2020, maxonwriting.com/2020/05/30/uncle-hugos-bookstore-in-minneapolis-burned-down-during-riots-gofundme-open/.
McEvoy, Jemima. “In a Riot’s Ashes: Minneapolis Business Owners Support Protesters, but Wish It Would’ve Gone Differently.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 July 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/02/in-a-riots-ashes-minneapolis-business-owners-support-protesters-but-wish-it-wouldve-gone-differently/?sh=3fb9c80f7848.
Mendez, Natalia. “East Lake Street.” Minneapolis Cultural Districts, www.minneapolis.org/cultural-districts/districts/east-lake-street/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
City of Minneapolis. “South Minneapolis Community Safety Center.” City of Minneapolis, www.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/community-safety-centers/south-mpls-community-safety-center/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Nelson, Joe. “Struggle to Search Rubble for Possible Body in Burned down Lake Street Liquor Store – Bring Me the News.” Bring Me the News, 3 June 2020, bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/struggle-to-search-rubble-for-possible-body-in-burned-down-lake-street-liquor-store.
Associated Press. “Minneapolis City Council Approves Site for New Police Station, Replacing Old One Burned during 2020 Protest.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 3 Nov. 2023, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/minneapolis-city-council-approves-site-for-new-police-station-replacing-old-one-burned-during-2020-protest.
Thompson, Cheryl W. “Fatal Police Shootings of Unarmed Black People Reveal Troubling Patterns.” NPR, NPR, 25 Jan. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/01/25/956177021/fatal-police-shootings-of-unarmed-black-people-reveal-troubling-patterns.
“Unrest Destroys Minneapolis’ Landmark Street of Diversity, Lake Street.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 31 May 2020, www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/unrest-destroys-minneapoliss-landmark-street-of-diversity-lake-street/.Wigdahl, Heidi.
“The Uncles Are Back: After Burning to the Ground, Beloved Minneapolis Bookstores Find New Home | Kare11.Com.” Kare 11, 7 Sept. 2022, www.kare11.com/article/money/business/behind-the-business/after-burning-to-the-ground-beloved-minneapolis-bookstores-find-new-home/89-79907c5e-370e-42ca-9609-2bf6a34c421e.