Minneapolis park’s name mysteriously changed to George Floyd Park

The signage for a Minneapolis park was changed overnight Saturday to honor George Floyd, but officials say they have no idea who did it.

A maintenance worker at George Todd Park noticed the sign early Sunday and snapped a few photos to show his supervisors, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

A decal with the name Floyd — in nearly identical font — was placed over “Todd” so the sign read “George Floyd Park.”

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died while in police custody on May 25 and his death sparked an avalanche of protests across the nation. He died after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, as three other officers didn’t intervene.

The park is located less than 3 miles from where Floyd died.

Park officials said there are no plans to formally change the name of the park, Bring Me the News reported.

“The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is aware that Saturday night some unknown person(s) placed a decal on a park sign, changing George Todd Park to George Floyd Park,” a spokesperson told the outlet. “The MPRB has not received any requests nor taken any action for renaming the park at 5600 Chicago Avenue South.”

Initially, park officials said they didn’t plan to remove the decal, but on Monday, crew members who were not aware of the directive removed it, WCCO reported. The agency said the decal was too damaged to be re-adhered to the sign, according to the outlet.

“I do not know who put the decal up, but I commend whoever it was for their creativity and detailed work,” MPRB President Jono Cowgill said, according to WCCO.

Cowgill said he is “very open” to changing the name of the park and that he’s spoken with other commissioners about the idea, adding that “any decisions on location and park renaming must be grounded in Black and brown community voices,” the outlet reported.

George Todd Park is named after a local park commissioner who served from 1957 to 1963, according to the agency’s website. The park was named while Todd was still alive, which was a break from tradition, MPRB said. He died from cancer a few months later.

This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Minneapolis park’s name mysteriously changed to George Floyd Park."