City of Minneapolis to name street after George Floyd
A portion of street includes the spot where George Floyd was killed.
Minneapolis City Council has voted to re-name a section of a street in honor of George Floyd, on Friday (Sept. 18) and Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to sign off on the initiative, the Star Tribune reports.
The blocks between 37th East and 39th East streets along Chicago Avenue will soon be known as George Perry Floyd Jr. Place and includes the spot where Floyd lost his life to former cop Derek Chauvin on Memorial Day weekend. It will be a “commemorative name” change, meaning that part Chicago Avenue will remain to be known as it is in addition to George Perry Floyd Jr. Place.
As of now, the area where he was killed, Chicago Avenue and 38th Street East, is barricaded. It currently holds a memorial for Floyd where demonstrators have been gathering to demand change, including additional funding for cops to participate anti-racism training and they are also asking for a temporary property tax freeze for people within the area.
Though city officials planned on reopening the intersection this summer they decided against it to avoid confrontation and are currently working to determine the area’s future.
Since Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis City Council has ordered a ban on chokeholds and voted unanimously to disband the Minneapolis Police Department. Protests fueled by the police killing of Floyd have popped up all across the globe as Black people continue to be disproportionately killed and brutalized by law enforcement officers in America.
The trial for the four ex-officers involved in the killing of George Floyd, Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, is scheduled to take place in March. Chauvin, the cop who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck until he died, has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Lane, Kueng and Thao were charged with aiding and abetting. While Chauvin remains behind bars, the other three officers are free on bond until trial.
Floyd’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the city in July.