George Floyd Square Reeling After Renee Good Shooting and ICE Escalation
Since the fatal shooting of Renee Good in January, residents and business owners near George Floyd Square say heightened ICE activity has reignited collective trauma tied to the 2020 uprising. Community members describe fear, anger, and renewed disruption as federal enforcement intensifies.
Since the Jan. 7 shooting that killed Renee Good, the increased presence of immigration enforcement officers across Minnesota has left many communities shaken. The shooting occurred just six blocks from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, and for residents and business owners in George Floyd Square, the proximity has reopened deep wounds and revived unresolved trauma.
“It brought back memories. We thought there was going to be a riot, that the city was going to burn again,” said Richard, an employee at the Giant Express Laundromat in George Floyd Square. Richard, who has worked at the laundromat for eight years, said Good’s shooting came as a shock.
“It was shocking because this is what we talk about amongst ourselves. When a white woman gets shot, that lets you know times are changing.”
For many in the area, Good’s killing has produced a sense of déjà vu, particularly as the attorneys who led George Floyd’s case are now representing Good’s family. George Floyd Square, which has been rebuilding since the unrest following Floyd’s murder, sits just minutes from the site of the shooting. Workers and residents report frequent ICE sightings since then, heightening fear in a neighborhood already carrying the weight of collective trauma.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who were out here during the George Floyd uprising, and I’m hearing more about collective trauma, and about never really having healed from what they experienced back then,” said Valerie Quintana, executive editor of “The Real Minneapolis.”
“When people live with collective trauma, they can never really breathe. It’s constant discomfort, fear, and jumpiness. I haven’t talked to many people who aren’t infuriated,” said Quintana.
Founded in May 2020, “The Real Minneapolis” provides weekly meals and employment opportunities to unhoused residents and frequently operates out of George Floyd Square. Quintana said that despite her anger and fear surrounding the current ICE presence, she remains committed to continuing mutual aid efforts in the community.
For community leader and MN Agape Movement co-founder Marquise Bowie, Good’s death is tragic, but not surprising.
“There are no winners in this situation,” Bowie said. “As a person of color who has lived here my whole life, not a lot has changed since Floyd’s murder. These things have been happening forever. The only difference now is that a white woman got killed.”
The MN Agape Movement works to build safer communities by providing resources related to housing, education, mental health and employment. Through that work, Bowie says George Floyd Square has continued to experience what he describes as “tragedy tourism” since 2020.
While some visitors arrive with good intentions, he fears the recent shooting will further fuel the phenomenon as national media and out-of-town observers descend on Minneapolis. “I don’t see a lot of real change,” Bowie said.
“I saw a lot of people show up during Covid, and once the cameras and the glitz and glamour left, so did they. Now more than ever we have to work on our humanity. We need to work together, for everybody.”
Ini Augustine, owner of Mystic Healing Stones, said the recent ICE escalation has triggered PTSD flashbacks and negatively impacted her business. Augustine, who opened her shop last February, grew up in South Minneapolis and has witnessed the neighborhood’s cycles of unrest firsthand.
“I feel like a battered wife. I feel like we are being abused wholesale by a crazed man who’s angry about our governor daring to run against him,” Augustine said. “It’s been really difficult. The protests have been nonstop, and it doesn’t put you in a shopping mood when you feel like your way of life is under attack.”
Despite the unrest, Augustine has kept her shop open, grounding her decision in a commitment to community healing. “It’s incomprehensible. It’s a betrayal of everything we were raised to believe as Americans, and it’s happening right in front of us,” she said.
“I’m not a protester. But if I can create a space where people can find healing and a little peace in this chaos, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Protests against ICE operations have intensified over the past week, with hundreds taking to the streets and confronting federal agents, often met with flashbangs and chemical irritants.
“The spirit of the people in Minneapolis is just different,” Quintana said. “The courage and strength of the youth is unbelievable. Seeing 17- and 18-year-olds who are deeply informed about the political climate and willing to stand up, it’s incredible. I’m just very, very proud of them.”
Izzy Canizares is a freelance journalist and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder