George Floyd mural in Third Ward demolished
A Third Ward building famous for having a mural commemorating George Floyd was torn down this week, ahead of the five-year mark of his death.
Why it matters The demolition sparked outcry from community members, who lamented that it was a "project of erasure."
The building that housed the mural, at the corner of Elgin and Ennis streets, was left a pile of rubble with no clear future.
Flashback: The mural was painted in 2020, after Floyd's murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer five years ago Sunday.
The building also housed other works of art and was part of a string of buildings on the block with murals. Others still intact nearby commemorate Breonna Taylor, Vanessa Guillén and rapper Takeoff.
The vacant building was damaged in a fire in 2024 but remained standing until this week.
What they're saying: Third Ward historian Naomi Carrier told KHOU she was upset to see the building destroyed and wants more preservation of Third Ward history.
"Give me two years and that'll be a two- or three- to four-story condo on this block," Carrier said. "Preservation helps us know what came before us."
The intrigue: Other mural dedications to Floyd are still standing around the neighborhood.
They include one by Houston artist Donkeeboy near Jack Yates High School, where Floyd attended. The mural was surrounded by flowers and a statuette of Abraham Lincoln this week.
Plus, another mural depicting Floyd at the former site of Turkey Leg Hut is still intact — although its future is uncertain amid the restaurant's downfall.
What's next: To commemorate the anniversary of his death, the Houston Public Library is hosting the 4th annual George Floyd Memorial Lecture on Thursday.
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EXCLUSIVE - Edwin Reed was emotional when describing what his Minneapolis business has endured in the five years since George Floyd's death, largely blaming the city. "It's been a heck of a roller coaster these last five years," Edwin Reed told Fox News Digital. Reed owns Sincere Detailing Pros at 38th and Chicago in south Minneapolis, which happens to be right near where George Floyd, a Black man, was killed five years ago when White former police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, asphyxiating him, after Floyd was allegedly caught using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Floyd's death caused riots throughout the city of Minneapolis and the country, and Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years for violating Floyd's civil rights and 22.5 years for second-degree murder. A month after Floyd's death in May 2020, Reed said barricades were erected on all corners of the neighborhood that proved to be a huge hit to his revenue. "I mean, like wherever you turn, wherever you go, there was a barricade about maybe six feet high," he recalled. "And they were each about maybe 5-6,000 pounds apiece. And it drove our customers away." George Floyd Square, which served as a way to remember Floyd, quickly devolved into a danger zone, Reed said. "Tens of thousands of people a week were coming here before they found out that when they came, they were getting robbed by vigilantes that were hanging out here, different gangs, rival gangs… because they knew that there was no police protection within this block radius," Reed said. "So, it was just like a walk in the park for these people to just rob." Reed said he changed the hours of his company because his customers were scared and calling him because they were worried about their cars "being jacked." Several people died from gunfire in George Floyd Square amid the unrest, and Reed said he personally saw six people get killed, two of whom he tried to resuscitate. He went further to allege that the ambulance refused to come in when they called 911, and sometimes "they didn't even answer the phone." A city spokesperson said the Minneapolis Police Department provides 24/7 service to the 38th and Chicago area and has assigned two officers there since August 2023 to focus on "community engagement, relationship-building, and collaborating with local businesses and residents," according to the Star Tribune. "When you block a street, it's telling people we're closed," he continued. "It's telling our businesses that they can't come over here. And so our companies were forced to get all of our vendors, who deliver our products to keep our businesses running, they had to come down a dangerous alley where people were driving 50-60 miles an hour down an alley that you should be driving 15 down." Reed and several of his fellow business owners have since sued the city of Minneapolis, seeking $49 million in damages, the restoration of police protection, and more. The complaint describes an incident in which Reed was visiting a customer at his store when they both dove to the ground after hearing gunshots outside. When Reed called 911, the operator allegedly gave Reed a phone number to a Minneapolis gang task force officer and told Reed to call the task force officer. "Reed called the task force officer who told Reed that the Minneapolis police will not respond because the area is a 'No Go Zone,' and the officer told Reed to gather the surrounding bullet casings to bring to the officer," according to the complaint. The city filed a motion to dismiss the suit. "This is not a race or White, Black thing," Reed told Fox News Digital. "This is a principle thing here, that we are business owners, we were collateral damage, we had nothing to do with George Floyd getting killed. We were not out in the streets celebrating and protesting with everybody and all this Black Lives Matter crap. We had nothing to do with that." He said after everything he's witnessed, he's ready to leave the city behind. "My company's brand is destroyed," he maintained. "I haven't slept adequately in three-and-a-half years, because I'm waking up in the middle of the night scared because I'm thinking people are going to break into my shop. I've seen them on camera trying to burn my shop down and all kinds of things. And what I'm asking the city is, since they ruined my company, to relocate my business. I don't even want to be in this state anymore, honestly, after what we've seen here." "This whole city is in a demise right now," he said. "All the small businesses are leaving… This city is done. We'll never come back from what took place." Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey's office told Fox News Digital that it "cannot comment on pending litigation" but did acknowledge the lawsuits. When reached by Fox News Digital, a city spokesperson said they are investing in business growth, affordable housing and community development. "The intersection of 38th and Chicago – now known as George Floyd Square - is an important commercial corridor in the historically Black neighborhood of South Minneapolis," the city spokesperson said. "Since 2020, the City has been actively engaged with the community to make positive change and address both immediate and long-term needs. We honor the life and legacy of George Floyd – and what his death represents in our community and around the world. The city remains committed to addressing ongoing disparities in infrastructure, health and economic development. " "Since the summer of 2020, the City has invested more than $5 million dollars into housing, infrastructure, art preservation and social services in the area around George Floyd Square," the spokesperson continued. "These investments are designed to revitalize the neighborhood and address the community's needs. Collectively, this work aims to create a safer, more equitable and vibrant community for all residents." Additionally, the spokesperson said they've provided technical and financial assistance to local businesses, including 30 forgiven loans of $50,000, as well as made infrastructure investments such as better lighting, traffic safety improvements, and beautification efforts. The city also said there has been a noticeable improvement in safety and touted certain police reforms. "Despite staffing challenges, MPD Chief Brian O'Hara assigned two officers to a permanent beat in George Floyd Square, focused on community engagement and rebuilding trust. In fact, reports of shots fired, and auto thefts have dropped out of the top 10 calls for service in that area. The City is also changing its approach to community safety so that a police response isn't the only solution needed. Crucial to re-imagining public safety and police reform is recognizing the best response, the right response and the best use of resources." The city worked with the community around George Floyd Square and removed the barriers on June 3, 2021, 366 days after their placement on June 2, 2020, placed in such a way as to permit entry of emergency vehicles into the area, the spokesperson added. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Other business owners named in the lawsuit, like Smoke In The Pit owner Dwight Alexander, have also said that residents are too scared to stop in for meals. "People is scared to come up here or if they do come up here, it's a different emotion, it's a different energy," he said, according to NPR. "I don't care if it's the best food, why would you go somewhere you don't feel comfortable?" Ralph Williams, owner of Ralph's VIP Barber Lounge, was shot in 2021, but police never responded when he called 911, so he had to drive himself to the hospital, according to a report from the Star Tribune. "I feel bad for the police, and let me tell you why I feel bad for them," Reed told Fox News Digital. "Those officers that are on the force, they're not Derek Chauvin. They didn't kill George Floyd, but they're getting the fingers pointed at them every time they put that blue uniform on. So I want them to understand, see how we feel. Now they know how we feel. We've lost our jobs. You guys got jobs, we lost our jobs here." "Like, I don't hate law enforcement," he added. "But, by that officer and his actions, and being on the city's watch, it made it tough for them to even get the respect from the people right now. And you've gotta blame it on the administration. You can't blame it on nobody else," he said, noting that Medaria Arodondo was police chief at the time of Floyd's death. "It's just sickening how the city treated those officers and allowed to get retirement instead of facing prosecution for their actions," Reed said. Reed wrote a book, "Hush Hush Mpls - Orders to the Spies," which, according to its description, exposes the "calculated scheme by city officials to exploit the city's grief and capitalize on the ensuing chaos." He said the proceeds from his book are going to help the small businesses who have been impacted by the violence.
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Police ballistic markers stand besides a child's chair and bicycle at a crime scene in Brooklyn where a one year old child was shot and killed on July 13, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by) This story was published in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence. As gun violence surged in cities across the country after the start of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, shootings rose even more steeply in Lansing, Michigan. The worst period came in 2021, when the rate of fatal shootings reached 20 per 100,000 residents, two points higher than the national rate. 'That wave was so devastating,' said Marlon Beard, a community activist in Lansing whose 17-year-old son, Marshawn, was shot and killed in 2021. 'We all kind of asked ourselves what we can do about it.' 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A program that works directly with shooters in Lansing is finding success — and police support But the overall drop also coincided with a national decrease in gun violence as the pandemic receded. Determining how much of the decline was due to intervention and how much it reflected national trends remains a key part of the puzzle in understanding gun violence trends in Lansing and similar cities. The end of the pandemic also heralded the federal Build Back Better Act, which included $5 billion for community violence intervention work, along with less direct funding that strengthened the social safety net that is crucial in many communities with disproportionate rates of gun deaths. That widespread funding anchored programs like this one. The first 18-month Advance Peace fellowship started in late 2022 with 15 fellows on the southwest side, where shootings were most prevalent. Fatal shootings and nonfatal shootings fell by 38 percent and 32 percent, respectively, in that area. But the drop in fatal shootings was greater in the three sections of the city where Advance Peace didn't have an initial presence, raising questions about the program's influence. The southwest did, however, have the largest reduction in nonfatal shootings compared to the other areas. According to the Lansing study, Advance Peace effectively engaged with the people most likely to pick up a gun, who were identified through family members, friends, other activists, law enforcement, and people recently released from jails and prisons. More than 90 percent of participants no longer use guns to go on the offensive, said Paul Elam, the chief strategy officer at the Michigan Public Health Institute and a key member of the team that implemented the program in Lansing. Elam later took a step back from street-level engagement to join the research team. 'We have evidence that this works,' he said. 'We have the evidence to prove that a public health approach works.' Joseph Richardson, a gun violence researcher and professor at the University of Maryland, said the Advance Peace model can be successful, but more data is needed to show that the program was driving the drop in shootings. 'There were significant reductions in fatal shootings where they weren't doing their work,' Richardson said, but added that continued research of community violence intervention programs is crucial to better understanding 'the role a CVI group plays locally. That's how we learn what steps need to be taken to implement the work properly.' The second fellowship, which covers the entire city, started in July 2024 and will continue working with 55 fellows until December, when the Trump administration's termination of $169 million in grants for violence intervention and community safety programs leaves cities like Lansing to scramble for alternatives. Half of Advance Peace Lansing's funding comes from federal grants, and its leaders are now strategizing about how to raise enough money to sustain the organization's 22-person staff and $3.5 million annual budget. 'If you remove that intervention piece, gun violence will go up again,' said Michael McKissic, who runs Mikey23, a nonprofit gun violence prevention program that trains young people in trades like construction, plumbing, and electrical work. 'We need that intervention. Our organization can't do that, other organizations can't do it. You need those individuals who are going to go in and show them the error of their ways.' The study showed that fatal shootings decreased by 19 percent more in Lansing from 2022 to 2024 than they did nationally — when gun violence was already dropping across the country post-pandemic. But the city's rate of nonfatal shootings fluctuated, ending with a 15 percent decline in 2024. Richardson said this is the kind of discrepancy that requires more analysis, but that continued research will be more difficult after the cuts from the federal government. Elam and the other authors of the study said gun violence prevention has always been an uphill battle, and hope the promising declines don't cause leaders to disengage with gun violence prevention. They also emphasized the positive feedback they've gotten from residents who say their boots-on-the-ground work has built trust, as well as city leaders, police, and the fellows themselves, most of whom are under 18 years old. 'We can talk to them,' one of the 16-year-old fellows told The Trace, referring to Advance Peace's credible messengers. 'They care about us, they're there for us.'
