East Lake Street was busy Tuesday as community members and outside volunteers came together for another day of cleanup after riots, fire, and looting tore through the Longfellow neighborhood last week. The unrest followed the death of George Floyd, who was killed while Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's neck as Floyd repeatedly said, "I can't breathe."
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Demolition equipment filled the street Tuesday afternoon. The street's closed off between Minnehaha Avenue and S 29th Avenue as crews worked to bring-down the remaining structure that once housed El Nuevo Rodeo. East of there, a group of volunteers armed with cleaning supplies zeroed-in on walls filled with graffiti at a U.S. Bank branch.
"This is my third day out here," said Mary Helget, who's lived a block off of East Lake Street for over three decades.
The clean-up, Helget said, is a way to energize not only her, but the Longfellow neighborhood.
Along with cleanup, community outreach is underway along Lake Street with several outdoor food banks open after grocery stores were looted, leaving community members in a situation that was already dire because of COVID-19.
The south Minneapolis Salvation Army location has set-up a food bank for anyone in-need.
"For about a week now, we wanted to respond in a tangible way," said Katherine Clausell, the Territorial Social Justice and Urban Ministries Secretary for the Salvation Army in 11 midwest states. "People have become even more food insecure with all of the unrest. We know those needs exist because of that and COVID-19. We've moved our mission to the street and kind of relaxed our eligibility requirements. Anyone that has a need and presents themself, we're going to help them in some kind of way. Kind of a long-term recovery response."
Tables lined the lawn of the south Minneapolis Salvation Army on Tuesday. Hundreds made their way through to grab donated food and water. Loaves and Fishes was on-hand, grilling to-go meals and handing out water as well.
George Floyd's death impacted the Salvation Army, especially Clausell, who knew Floyd while he worked as a security guard at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center.
"He loved people," she said. "Not only did he show kindness to people who were weary and walking the streets all day, he showed kindness to our staff. The Harbor Lights Center is located in an area that's had its own ups and downs. He would walk out, particularly our female staff, out to their cars at the end of the day. He would just step in. He was a gentleman.
