Business owners at George Floyd Square say area has seen positive change
MINNEAPOLIS -- George Floyd Square has become a place for reflection where many have left memorials to commemorate the tragic incident that impacted the world.
Georgio Wright is from this neighborhood. He witnessed the killing of George Floyd and the aftermath.
"We call them journeys. I'm walking you through this journey to learn about history," Wright said.
He now takes those who will go on a historic journey through this space.
"You have 169 names in the street of people who lost their lives to police brutality. I always tell people, you know, read a name, Google it, because everybody has a story," Wright said.
These are stories he feels are important to tell.
"It's not only just the police you know, it's Black people killing Black people, too. That's something we need to work on too," Wright said.
He has hopes that those who experience it will re-tell in their corner of the world.
"Hope is getting restored it's getting restored you know we got to keep fighting," Wright said.
Many who work and live here say this community is healing from the uprising following Floyd's murder and the shutting down of the area.
"Police couldn't come in here at all or medical attention," said Cedric Steele, co-owner of Just Turkey.
Business owner Cedric Steele says that the shutdown forced a community policing itself, but that effort hurt his and other businesses near 38th and Chicago.
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"For us and all the businesses over here it was hard for us to conduct business because the customers couldn't drive in food delivery trucks couldn't drive out food in," Steele said.
He has seen positive change.
"Over the years it has got peaceful, better," Steele said.
Steele did not relocate Just Turkey. He and other business owners stayed, they wanted to be a part of positive change.
"I hope they build something over here for the community and for the change," Wright said.
Wright says he sees that change -- community working together.
New businesses and entrepreneurs are taking up space in a place that was once hard to access.
Wright gladly shows those on this journey all that has transpired here, hoping they never forget.
"I always say I could have been George, and he could have been me. That's why I always say, I always push the narrative, 'we got to make a change, we got to make a stance,'" Wright said.