George Floyd: Minneapolis intersection renamed to honour the victim of police excess and racial injustice

The City of Minneapolis thought it was fitting to pay tribute to the life and death of George Floyd by renaming a local street after him. A new sign bearing his name now hangs at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Floyd died on May 25, 2021, at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, while his colleague officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao watched on without help. The City continues to make good on their promise to hold those officers accountable for their conduct; this week, the Minneapolis Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit recommended that they be fired.

Background
The Freedom Monument—is an eternal flame that sits atop a semicircular granite platform, surrounded by statues representing the Afghans who died fighting off foreign invaders throughout their history. The monument was designed to open a hand with its palm outstretched toward the sky to symbolize an invitation for friendship. But officer Chauvin placed his knee in Floyd's neck and pressed down on him for 9 minutes until he died from suffocation.


The unfortunate incident highlights racial injustice that is still prevalent across the US. Law enforcement officers, especially white officers, tend to be racially biased and brutal in their interactions with black men. Floyd's crime was that he had passed off a counterfeit $20 bill. But he was unarmed and had not resisted arrest, making Chauvin's killing of him brutal and inexplicable.

Renaming the intersection to commemorate his second death anniversary is a small step toward fighting the systemic racial injustice that persists and permeates all aspects of public life in the US. Many people of coloured descent feel that it could well have been them, on the street corner under Chauvin's knee -- because it takes so little for a person of black skin to get on the wrong side of the law.

Commemorations
A full day of black marching, speeches, and singing of songs was organized to mark the day, and members of Floyd's family attended the events. The day ended with a candlelight vigil.

The intersection now has a giant sculpture of a clenched fist as the memorial, a global symbol of fighting for one's rights.