Will The City of Minneapolis Ever Be the Same? (Part Two)

 

ALL NEWS   ORLANDO   EVENTS   STATE   NATION   WORLD   OPINION   PHOTOS

Nation News

Will The City of Minneapolis Ever Be the Same?

By: Elizabeth Powell

April 25, 2021

Picture: Burning of Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS | On May 26, 2020, the City of Minneapolis changed forever.

It all started when Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin pulled over a 46 year old African American man named George Floyd. Floyd was killed during the arrest as Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, cutting off his airways. Chauvin was accompanied by three other officers who observed the killing. 

After the killing of George Floyd, protests and riots erupted in the Minneapolis area which led to nationwide protests. By the end of June, a recorded 14,000 people were arrested in relation to the Black Lives Matter riots. 

What do you picture in your head? A city full of flames? Streets full of glass? Businesses smashed to the ground? You're exactly right.

The main focus here, is what is left of the beautiful city of Minneapolis, Minnesota following the start of the Black Lives Matter riots. 

The Black Lives Matter riots make a huge name for themselves. However, the widely known Pride protests accompany the Black Lives Matter protests and riots pretty well. Pride protestors experienced some of the same police brutality that African American's experienced. For example, transgender people were 7 times more likely to experience physical violence when interacting with the police compared to cisgender survivors and victims. The motives between the Black Lives Matter protests and the Pride protests are also very similar. Change is the main focus with both of them. The protests occur because the people want change, they want to stand up for what they believe in. 

How would you feel walking into a city burnt to the crisp like a piece of toast you left in toaster too long? I'd imagine it would be pretty heartbreaking. The riots brought total destruction to the city. A piece of artwork full of architecture, businesses, and homes were taken. Some people couldn't even go to the grocery store because they were burnt down to the foundation! Small businesses were destroyed. Their stores were broken and burned, their merchandise stolen or destroyed with the building, and no backbone to rebuild upon. A lot of hope within the city and for the city was lost.

In a first hand article, a Minneapolis medical practice named Broadway's Family Medicine expresses their feelings after the riots; a sense of loss and grief, being violated, and the forebonding sense of uncertainty about how they would continue to take care of their patients. Their practice was looted and vadalized during the riots. Even though they understood the extent of the situation they were left with nothing but to strive to rebuild and let the riots and looting make them stronger as a business. They were a lucky business in this case. 

Not all small businesses in Minneapolis had the opportunity to rebuild, leaving them with hardly anything. 

In addition, after the accusations of murder with the George Floyd case against 4 Minneapolis officers, the Minneapolis Police Departments Third Precint building was destroyed by arson.  This was done by the citizens of Minneapolis in an act of payback by the mistreatment from the Minneapolis Police Department. 



The Minneaplis Police Department took a huge hit after these incidences. Nearly 200 officers have applied to leave the Minneapolis Police Department because of what they describe as post-traumatic stress. Officers are leaving, which leaves the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) in demand for new officers. The question is, who would want to enlist for a job in a police dpeartment that is under so much backlash? Hardly anyone would want to do that. Therefore, the MPD is struggling to keep afloat after the accusations and backalsh against their police department.

How is Minneapolis supposed to bounce back if their police force is suffering as well? Where is the structure and support supposed to come from? The citizens of Minneapolis were furious therefore couldn't work as one. Obviously they were not going to look to the police or authority in this situation. The riots caused destruction in every way possible.

Many argue that the destruction was justified. That the riots serve as justice for what happened to George Floyd and many others who lost their lives due to police brutality. Burning down a city will make citizens never forget what happened there. It seems as if the Black Lives Matter supporters and protestors want the day of George Floyd's death to go down in infamy, bringing the city of Minneapolis down with it. A common saying among these supporters would be "Can't we just rebuild the city?" Unfortunately it is not that easy. Small businesses had no choice but to go out of business. It's not possible to rebuild a business if there is no money to rebuild it with. The controversey between whether the destruction was ethical or not is ongoing. 

With more protests about different situatons in regard to change, Minneapolis has not been able to catch a break. 

More recently, on April 12, an officer fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop near Minneapolis. The officer reached for a taser as the man resisted arrest but ended up shooting him, leaving him grumbling in pain, killing him. The officer, Kim Potter, later proclaimed that she intended to reach for her taser, but reached for the gun instead and shot Daunte Wright. 

As soon as the public discovered this, they rioted. Protests all in and around the Minneapolis area and all across the state began. 



The killing of Daunte Wright proves that almost a year after the initial Black Lives Matter riots and protests over the killing of George Floyd, there are still incidences that spark them back up. The City of Minneapolis has had endless amounts of protests and riots which have only led to desuction and chaos within the city. Sadly, it will never end. There may be justice for the innocent lives killed but there is no justice for the poor city of Minneapolis. Minneapolis will never return to its beautiful self, it will serve as a graveyard from the Black Lives Matter era. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Educating Yourself on the Path to Fight Racial Discrimination

Image
Educating Yourself on the Path to Fight Racial Discrimination Throughout the past year, countless incidents have rightfully amplified tensions throughout our country. In the path to fight racial discrimination, we must first educate ourselves. By Jayme Baker Over a century ago, slavery was abolished within the United States. It is now 2021, 155 years later, and the events of racial discrimination have yet to meet their end. This past year has no doubt been a turning point in the fight against racial discrimination.  According to the Pew Research Center roughly 71% of black Americans and 52% of Hispanics surveyed reported that they have been personally discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity. Similarly, 4 in 10 black Americans and 5 in 10 Hispanics claim that their race or ethnicity has ultimately made their life harder in one way or another. These statistics are very disheartening because they show just how common racial and ethnic discrimination is throughout the...
Read more

Positive Mental Health Environments In Primary Classrooms for LBGTQIA+ Youth

Image
Creating Safe Spaces In Primary Classrooms For LBGTQIA+ Youth Mental Health By: Mikayla Becker, April 28 2021                                        Child holding their hand up in an LBGTQIA+ inclusive classroom Primary classrooms should be safe spaces for LBGTQIA+ youth mental health with the use of different strategies.  Although we have made major progress in civil rights and societal acceptance for the LBGTQIA+ community, the youth of the LBGTQIA+ community are still being ignored.  Children can identify themselves as members of this community as young as 9 . For children this young, this process is difficult and takes a toll on their mental health state. I officially identified as bisexual in June of 2018 but that was not the beginning. I vividly remember having the feeling of butterflies in my stomach when I looked at both boys and girls in third g...
Read more

Racial Injustice Ends Now

  Blog Post                                                                 Racial Injustice Ends Now   The world today is a world divided for many reasons such as politics, sports teams,  and  re ligion ,  a ll things chosen based on opinions . W hat people should not be divided on  are  things out of our hands like the color of our skin.   There is so much hate and injustice over  civil rights for people who are  all  of  equal  value. Communities are crumbling and burning from silenced voices and it needs to be changed.   Racial injustice is the largest issue in our world today . I n unity  people should be working to fix this problem by spreading awareness and  protesting ...
Read more