The square where George Floyd was murdered by ex-Minnesota cop Derek Chauvin now has a sign with special rules for white people.
The placard at the entrance of George Floyd Square in Minnesota calls it “a sacred space for community, public grief, and protest,” telling visitors to “honor the space as a place to connect and grieve as caring humans.”
But most of the instructions are listed under five orders “for white people in particular.”
“Decenter yourself and come to listen, learn, mourn, and witness,” the first bullet points reads, adding, “Remember you are here to support, not to be supported.”
“Be mindful of whether your volume, pace, and movements are supporting or undermining your efforts to decenter yourself,” the second orders says.
White visitors are ordered to “seek to contribute to the energy of the space, rather than drain it.”
“Bring your own process to other white folks so that you will not harm BIPOC,” it says, using an acronym for black, indigenous and people of color.
A fourth instruction tells people to use caution taking photos for social media, especially without consent from people in them. It is not clear why that is aimed “in particular” at white people.
“If you witness white folks doing problematic things, speak up with compassion to take the burden of off [sic] Black folks and our siblings of color whenever appropriate,” the final instruction reads.
“Seek to engage rather than escalate, so that it can be a learning moment rather than a disruption,” the “welcome” sign ends.
Images of the sign shared on social media quickly sparked outrage.
“Imagine what would happen if a 9/11 memorial gave similar instructions to Muslims,” one person tweeted, as many others said it was blatantly racist.
“Nothing like trying to stir up more trouble! I can’t imagine what would happen if any place had a sign posted with special instructions for black people,” Dorothy Derr said.
“I thought this was about police brutality,” another person asked.
Others questioned why it only singled out white people, especially given that not all of the officers charged over Floyd’s death are white.
“What about mixed, Asian, Indian, Latinos??? And if there are mixed with white which rules do they follow… #askingforafriend,” one person asked.
However, a woman named Bella insisted the sign was a result of “community efforts consisting of whites as well.”
“Nothing segregated. I believe if this was vice versa you’d understand. I’m fine with this though,” she wrote.
Without addressing the parts aimed only at white people, John Meis also noted that the general message “sounds like kind advice for any place of significant historical tragedy.”
A woman named Bethany called criticism of the note “disheartening.”
“The sign wouldn’t exist and address the points if there wasn’t disrespect from white people in the square as an ongoing issue,” she claimed.
