As a reaction to the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, racial justice activists and some residents of the Powderhorn community in Minneapolis staged an occupation protest at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue with a blockade of the streetway lasting over a year.

[8] Activists erected barricades to block vehicular traffic and transformed the intersection and surrounding structures with amenities, social services, and public art depicting Floyd and other racial justice themes.

[17] But in the weeks and months after Floyd's murder, the neighborhood surrounding the square, which had previously had a reputation for gang activity, continued to have elevated levels of violent crime and regular gunfire incidents.

[5] By March 2021, debate about how to open the intersection persisted as the trial of Derek Chauvin commenced, with some residents expressing support for removing the barricades and others preferring that the occupation continue until community demands were met.

[29] At about 8 p.m. on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin while being arrested outside the Cup Foods store at the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood.

[33] Bystanders confronted the officers over Floyd's repeated statement "I can't breathe" and deteriorating condition, but he appeared unconscious at the scene and was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance.

On June 2, the Minneapolis Public Works Department installed 12 concrete barricades at the various entrances to the square to ensure pedestrian safety as the intersection was host to many protest rallies.

[60][61] Violent crime, reports of drug overdoses by night, and disruption of public transit and business activity by day had city officials looking for ways to create a permanent memorial while also reopening the intersection to vehicular traffic.

[62][63] On February 12, 2021, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other city officials announced plans to reopen the intersection to vehicular traffic after the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin, scheduled for March 2021, concluded.

[75] On March 8, in response to Wright's death and elevated tensions in the area as Chauvin's trial began, the Agape Movement, a peacekeeping group that had a contract with the city to patrol the Central neighborhood, closed the square to gatherings.

The city also announced a partnership with other law enforcement agencies—including the field divisions for the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alcohol Tobacco Firearms—to bring charges against people committing crimes.

[79] On March 28, the day before opening statements in Chauvin's trial, a group of self-identified "anarchists" and "anti-fascists" held a training workshop at the square on how to avoid arrest and keep calm if detained by police.

[25] In February 2021, the city presented the community with two options to create a permanent memorial at the square, one preserving the roundabout and fist sculpture in the middle of the intersection and another that relocated it to the northeast corner of 38th and Chicago.

[82] Despite temporary closure after the fatal shooting of Imez Wright, the square remained an important gathering place during Chauvin's trial for people protesting racial injustice and seeking justice for Floyd.

[88] In a press conference after the Chauvin verdict, Frey called the square "a critical and important location of racial justice and healing", but said the city would move ahead with plans to reopen the intersection, not waiting for the trials of former police officers Thao, Lane, and Alexander, scheduled for August.

[95][96] On May 25, the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder, community activists were scheduled to host a daylong "Rise & Remember" event with public art, activities for children, and music, beginning at 1 p.m. at the square.

Unannounced and early in the morning on June 3, Minneapolis city officials removed cement barricades and other objects placed in the streets of the surrounding blocks to prevent the flow of vehicular traffic.

After city crews left, activists quickly replaced the cement barricades with other objects to continue halting vehicular traffic in the one-block radius around the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue.

[107][108] The city's phased reopening process of the square included ways to preserve art and history and promote local business, such as installing parklets to calm vehicular traffic and provide more seating at area restaurants.

[113] The fist sculptures at George Floyd Square were wrapped in white blankets in memory of Amir Locke, a man fatally shot by Minneapolis police while executing a no-knock warrant at an apartment unit on February 2.

[114] Overnight from March 11 to 12, Larry Mosby, a 45-year-old man, died in the parking lot of the abandoned Speedway gas station at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue after an apparent fentanyl overdose while parting with two other people.

[116][24][117] The news media originally reported Mosby's death as part of an elaborate kidnapping and robbery plot based on allegations by an accomplice that resulted in an arrest, but federal and country prosecutors later dropped charges after they found the accuser's story unreliable.

[120][21][121] The intersection remained an active site of protest two years after Floyd's murder as the city began a multi-year project to redesign the streetscape and plan a permanent memorial.

[127] On August 3, Mary Moriarty, Martha Holton Dimick, and other candidates in the primary election for Hennepin County attorney participated in a community conversation near the square about public safety.

In October, city officials revealed plans to purchase the abandoned Speedway gas station, which protesters rebranded "Peoples' Way", from the owner, who wished to divest themself of the property for safety reasons.

[143] A blue and yellow mural of George Floyd on the side of the Cup Foods grocery store became one of the most recognizable images of the global protest movement sparked by his murder, and a digital rendering of it served as a backdrop to his casket at his funeral in Houston, Texas.

The parking lot and covered gas pumps served as a central meeting place for neighbors and featured a small library, clothes donation area, and food shelf.

[133] In a grassy area at East 37th Street and Park Avenue South, a block north of the center of the square, artists created a symbolic cemetery with 150 headstone markers for people of color killed by police.

It began with 100 headstones of Black people killed by law enforcement, including memorials for Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Jamar Clark, Breonna Taylor, and Aiyana Jones.

Some advocates argued that community members felt safer with the volunteer patrols of the area, while other residents said they did not feel welcome at the square and that the autonomous zone was an unsafe way to accomplish change.