George Floyd Square
The memorial, murals, vigils and anniversary gatherings at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis
George Floyd Square — Minneapolis, MN
George Floyd Square occupies the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street in South Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. The site has since grown into a permanent community memorial, also known as The People's Way, with murals, monuments, flowers, and messages covering the buildings, barriers, and pavement around the former Cup Foods store.
The square's transformation began in the days after Floyd's death, when community members established a protest encampment that drew global attention and helped spark a worldwide reckoning over policing and racial injustice. Over time, the city of Minneapolis acquired the former Speedway gas station property, while community members continued to maintain the memorial and expand its tributes, including a large wooden fist sculpture, the Social Justice Billboard Project artworks created by Franklin Middle School students, and a Daunte Wright memorial honoring another man killed by police in April 2021. The annual Rise and Remember Festival, organized by Jeanelle Austin and the Rise and Remember organization, brings Floyd's family and the wider community together each May to commemorate the anniversary of his death, most recently marking five years with performances by Sounds of Blackness and Dee-1, a candlelight march to Say Their Names Cemetery, and remarks by family members including Paris Stevens and Angela Harrelson. This set follows the square across multiple years of mourning, activism, and commemoration, including vigils held in response to subsequent police killings such as that of Ricky Cobb II in July 2023.
