Black business owners in ‘George Floyd Square’ are pleading for help as crime has skyrocketed since activists declared the area an “autonomous zone.”
“George Floyd Square” is an activist-run area at the once-thriving intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Following the death of Floyd in the area, it has become an ongoing protest zone.
Speaking to the New York Post, local business owners condemned the activists for driving police and first responders away from the area.
“The city left me in danger,” the owner of Smoke In The Pit restaurant told The Post Thursday.
“They locked us up on here and left us behind,” said the merchant, who asked to be identified only as Alexander W. for fear of reprisals.
“They left me with no food, no water, nothing to eat,” he said. “The police, fire trucks, can’t come in here.”
The Post reports that at least five stores along one block are shuttered. Owners and workers at most of the stores that do remain open were too afraid to comment. “The black-owned businesses say they have lost 75-percent of their business since the Floyd memorial sprouted up shortly after his death — and have even launched a GoFundMe fundraising page in a desperate bid to stay afloat,” the report explains.
“Look around, things are empty,” said Richard Roberts, who works at the nearby Worldwide Outreach for Christ church. “What can we do about it?”
The business owners have now launched a fundraiser pleading for help.
“In the fight for justice we must not forget the fight of economic justice of (a) once-thriving community,” the fundraising page says. “We business owners know that the fight for justice doesn’t just include justice from the legal system, we must also include justice for business impacted.”
Just last month there was a fatal shooting in the area. A BLM activist who calls herself a medic for the ‘autonomous zone‘ told the Washington Times that she heard what sounded like “500 gunshots” during her shift.
Rules for White People Posted at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis
A large poster at the entrance to the autonomous zone also has a list of “rules for white people.”
