Local business owners say construction is hurting access, threatening livelihoods, and disrupting a neighborhood still healing after George Floyd’s murder.
Nearly six years after the murder of George Floyd reignited the global Black Lives Matter movement, a new chapter of controversy is brewing at the Minneapolis intersection where he died.
Ini Augustine, who owns Mystic Healing Stones, said her business became inaccessible on the first day of construction.
In addition to barely getting business, she added that city plans have slated a Metro D Line rapid bus shelter to replace her shop’s location.
“If I make it to the end of the month, I would be really surprised,” Augustine said. “It’s almost poetic because they expected George to hold his breath for nine minutes, which is humanly impossible, and they’re expecting my business to hold its breath for four months, which is financially impossible. They’re asking the impossible of Black businesses, of Black bodies, and of Black mental health at this point.”
The reconstruction project, city officials say, is the result of years of community engagement.
City officials maintain that community gathering spaces will remain available throughout construction, although some memorials and artwork will be temporarily relocated before being restored as work progresses. The overall project includes new streets, sidewalks, utilities, bicycle facilities, and public spaces, intended to preserve George Floyd Square’s significance while improving long-term infrastructure, according to a press release from the city of Minneapolis.
Still, some residents are raising concerns over the future of community-led resources that have operated from the square for years. Residents also expressed fears that increased construction activity and law enforcement presence could retraumatize a neighborhood still grappling with the legacy of police violence.
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Source: Black Enterprise
