For many months, there have been articles published about the city of Minneapolis and its plan of opening up the streets of George Floyd Square (GFS). Sitting at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, the now internationally-known intersection and home to a semi-permanent Black Power fist public art sculpture, GFS is considered to be a part of 4 neighborhoods: Powderhorn, Bryant, Central and Bancroft, of which are also a part of other wards represented by different city council members. The decision to open up the area for traffic to flow through as if nothing of significance transpired was perplexing. Since the local community had already come together to transform the streets into a destination for folks to gather safely and share resources that the city refused to supplement, shutting down this space would only cause harm, especially during a global economic and health pandemic. In addition, since the murder and death of George Floyd, Twin Cities residents continue to witness their elected officials wax poetic on and on about how hostile the area has grown toward law enforcement, drawing the unproven parallel between an increase in crime and the lack of police to stop it. But, what really stops crime from happening? Law enforcement agencies refusing to take dollars and resources away from vital institutions our communities like education, healthcare, housing, and other agencies that were designed specifically to eradicate the roots of crime: structural violence like poverty and homelessness. Well, this past Sunday, I documented and experienced The People’s Power Love Fest, a day of action and celebration hosted by the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign coalition partners, which includes Tru Ruts, SURJ TC: Showing Up for Racial Justice - Twin Cities, George Floyd Square, Reclaim The Block, Yes4Minneapolis, Black Visions, Unidos MN, TakeAction Minnesota, Pollen, Isuroon, Minnesota Youth Collective and The SEAD Project. In the words of the coalition: “[t]his effort for a new Department of Public Safety is truly a People’s effort, where we are collectively putting all our hands and voices in together to set the tone and pace for what we want for safety in Minneapolis as a community.” Be sure to follow their pages for updates on the Yes4Minneapolis Campaign & check out some of my favorite images from the day:
