Minneapolis promised change after George Floyd. Instead it s geared up for war Akin Olla © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images
The George Floyd uprising that began in Minneapolis introduced the demand of defunding the police to the general public, empowered Black-led anti-police violence movements across the planet, generated policy changes in cities across the US, and most importantly built new organizations which have the capacity to fight for systemic change for the long haul. The uprising brought a lot of reforms and positive developments to its birth city, too, including a move to actually defund the Minneapolis police department and redistribute funds to services with a larger potential for eradicating both crime and poverty. Now, however, the Minneapolis and Minnesota governments are in the process of undoing that progress and moving in the opposite direction. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who publicly killed 46-y
Publicity surrounding George Floyd case a challenge for jury selection
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Two Clarksville friends from opposite political parties talk poilitics
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USA TODAY
National Columnist Suzette Hackney is in Minneapolis for the trial of Derek Chauvin, reporting on the people, the scene and the mood. This is her first report.
George Floyd Square, the memorial at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue named for the Black man who died there, was eerily quiet Tuesday morning. Balloons and brightly colored signs, paintings and dead and artificial flowers glistened in the rising sun. Dirty and weather-worn stuffed animals, still grinning, stood guard. Everywhere I looked, I saw Floyd s face.
Just three miles down the road at the Hennepin County Government Center, National Guard troops stood behind concrete blockades and a gargantuan chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. As jury selection began for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing Floyd, a handful of protesters gathered across the street, eyes locked on the building as if they could witness the court proceedings from the outside.