George Floyd Memorial: A Place of Unity and Inspiration

It is unfortunate that oftentimes a tragedy must occur for people to come together. George Floyd Square is an example of this. Here, is a block that is different from the surrounding streets. A center that holds an energy that is angry, sad, frustrated; but is also bursting with color, inspiration and rebellion. To me, the George Floyd Memorial is beautiful. It was astonishing to think about the fact that there are still bus stops here because they are transformed with art work. The gas station is something completely different; the “Speedway” now reading “People's way,” what used to say “unleaded” now says “u lead” and the gas station is now seating with benches and pianos.

The space is very welcoming. It is also inclusive in honoring others who were victims of police brutality.

“It has been a three year journey. In the beginning there was so much chaos, emotional chaos. It felt like people were just fighting for their lives and freedom. It felt like the community gave up, but I saw them come together fiercely at the uprising,” Angela Harrelson recalled.

Robin Hickman-Winfield, CEO and Executive Producer at SoulTouch Productions and longtime community champion and advocate, introduced me to Angela Harrelson who happened to be at the memorial when we visited. Angela Harrelson is George Floyd’s aunt and the Co-Chairman of the George Floyd Global Memorial. Angela expressed how the memorial helped people come together. She said “The community has grown together. They’re now very protective over each other and see value in each other.” Everyone watches the memorial, cleans the memorial, and decorates the memorial.

“Community members come out and see what they can do to help,” she said. For Angela and many others the George Floyd Memorial is a place of healing.

I asked Angela about some nonprofit organizations that have started as a result of the death of George Floyd and the growing community environment. The Minnesota Agape Movement started by Reggie Ferguson, Bridgette Stewart, Marquise Bowie, and Steve Floyd is a nonprofit fighting against gun violence, neighborhood discord, and domestic violence on the Southside of Minneapolis. Their mission is “transforming street energy into community energy through advocacy, empowerment, and education” and "putting the neighbor back into the hood." 612 MASH (Minneapolis All Shall Heal) started to help those in need of medical care during the uprising in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd. Their mission is “to bridge the healthcare gaps in underserved communities by aligning services, providing critical resources, health education, and culturally competent care.” This non-profit provides free medical care for community members who don't have access to health care resources. Angela also mentioned that there are numerous food and clothing drives.

This memorial is also a meeting space for people to be inspired to go home and make change. I met three people, each in political parties fighting for justice in their home countries of Thailand, The Philippines and Myanmar (Burma). Amy, the woman from the Philippines fighting against unfair government and police brutality said, “We don't do this there. We just forget.”

We all talked about the importance of having memorials like this one and out of curiosity the woman from Thailand asked “Why did the fist become the symbol?”

Angela responded with one word: Liberation.

She went on to explain that there was just one fist at the beginning. “People thought that the city was going to tear down the memorial, as a result another fist came up,” she explained. There are now many fists around the site, the fists represents our perseverance.

“I remember growing up, I think I was a teenager, watching the olympics. I saw them holding up their fists. I didn't understand it but as I grew up I understood, it's the freedom of expression. Its empowerment. The fist is us saying we can do great things, we are not second class citizens, we are people created by the same God. We’re not just free from your chains, we're free from the inside,” Angela declared.

I asked Ms. Robin how she felt being at this memorial that makes me feel so many emotions. She quoted James Baldwin, "it's time for lovers of humanity to find one another." She continued, "being there with you, sister Angela, and the activists we met was a divine gathering of hope and humanity. It's become a gathering place. Where man made evil, God made good."

This square exhibits what community can do when we come together.