After the Protests
The protests following the death of George Floyd highlighted lifetimes of systemic failures and injustice. These events not only physically scarred the Longfellow neighborhood, but highlighted the community's loss of faith in public institutions.
This damage provides a unique opportunity to rebuild a neighborhood core prioritizing support of residents who’ve long struggled under the weight of overlapping crises and help prepare them for an uncertain future.
A State of Inequality
Despite Minnesota’s progressive image, the state ranks as one of the least racially equal in the United States. Black residents face systemic injustice in terms of housing, employment, education, and health, on top of a history of institutionalized racism and oppression by law enforcement. The pandemic has greatly exacerbated these disparities by hitting these populations particularly hard in terms of health outcomes, employment issues, homelessness and housing insecurity, educational disparities, and likelihood for businesses to permanently close.
Even prior to the pandemic, Minneapolis faced a crushing shortage of affordable housing options, pushing many away from job centers, walkable neighborhoods, public transit options, and quality schools; this will only get worse as inequality continues its expansion.
These disparities highlight clear needs to be addressed in reducing these inequities, resulting in the proposal’s interwoven array of support programs.
Building a Community Around Support
Through an interconnected network of holistic support, this Black community can begin to rebuild their stability and resilience.
The police station has been replaced with a trio of civic programs, symbolically balanced at the intersection of the protests:
A public safety office tests community-led law enforcement strategies, with successful practices shared with the city;
Social services support public safety through mental health and crisis management services;
A community center ensures public input and transparency into these evolving practices, while also connecting this new population with the surrounding neighborhood.
Widened pedestrian spaces at this intersection encourage future peaceful protests to hold institutions accountable. Existing community organizations and nonprofits displaced by the protests are rehoused, connecting them to the heart of the neighborhood while being ideally located to support the new populations.
People all have valuable and unique experiences they can contribute to their communities if their energy isn't devoted to merely surviving.
By providing an interconnected network of services dedicated to helping these underserved communities find stability and balance in the foundations of everyday life, they have renewed capacity to grow and thrive, be resilient in the face of challenges, and support those around them, resulting in a stronger and more equitable city for all.