MINNEAPOLIS — The two-year anniversary of George Floyd's killing began quietly and with a cold rain Wednesday morning at the corner where he died.
"I'm concerned about the rain — I think that will probably deter some people, but I'm really hoping that we have a good turnout," said Maria Bertrand, who came to the corner to pay her respects.
Bertrand works down the street for United Renters for Justice, a tenant advocacy group, and believes it's important for people to keep showing up to the area at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, now memorialized and known as George Floyd Square.
"I think it's still really important to remember why we have this and to remember why this is all here, why the community came together," said Bertrand. "Just to remember, just to really feel the importance of defunding the police and really changing our city and changing our state ... it's helpful to actually have a place to remind us of that."
The intersection is expected to draw a greater crowd Wednesday evening, when city of Minneapolis staff are scheduled to unveil a George Perry Floyd Square commemorative street sign and a candlelight vigil is scheduled for 8 p.m.
A man who identified himself only as Joe gazed somberly at the spot where Floyd died under the knee of then-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin.
"To me personally, I feel like it's starting to fade away," he said. "You know, people are kind of going their own way now compared to what it was two years ago and I'm committed to this ... I'm going to still be here every day. I'm going to still be out here to honor George."
Unny Nambudiripad, who also came to the corner Wednesday morning, recalled how the rise of activism and mutual aid following Floyd's killing was like nothing he'd ever seen.
"It's hard to feel like we've made much progress, but I think that underlying the whole uprising and the murder of George Floyd was broader questions of racism and inequity in our society," he said. "And so I'm really glad that those issues have become more prominent and there's more momentum, because I think that will affect things related to police and police violence if we can address these structural, systemic issues around racism."
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