A Methodist Hospital employee is speaking out against an anti-police art display honoring George Floyd that will run through March 3.
“I have no way to get to my area unless I walk by all these pictures. I’ve asked to talk, but also I’ve asked to be given an option to get into the hospital without having to pass them. I asked to have access to a different entrance so I wouldn’t have to see it. They refused,” the employee told Alpha News.
The employee, who has a family member serving in law enforcement, fears retaliation from the hospital for speaking out and asked to remain anonymous.
After the display was put up at Methodist Hospital, the employee talked with two supervisors and sent an email to the president. The employee asked to sit down with them to discuss “how many of us are feeling,” the employee said.
The hospital is working with the George Floyd Global Memorial (GFGM) and Park Nicollet Foundation for the display. “On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was lynched by the Minneapolis Police Department,” the display pamphlet reads.
The hospital assured the employee that the display was not intended to be offensive to police and that they support police, despite one poster that calls for forging “a future free from police.”
The materials in the exhibit are described as “offerings” that were left by protesters who visited George Floyd Square, the intersection in Minneapolis where Floyd died.
According to the George Floyd Global Memorial, “The offerings in this rememory experience are organized with the understanding that the memorial, while birthed through the pain and grief of racial injustice, offers the possibility of healing. Designed with the hospital in mind, this exhibit invites patients, visitors, and employees to pause and embrace the mystery of how one person’s tragedy has the power to unlock healing.”
“I can’t tell you how upsetting it was for me and my coworker. She has past gun violence trauma. She was sobbing,” the employee told Alpha News. Floyd placed a pistol to a woman’s abdomen during a 2007 armed robbery.
The employee cannot get to work without walking past the art display and requested access to the hospital via a different entrance. Management said the employee could “learn something from the pictures,” according to the employee.
Some patients have also said they plan to seek care elsewhere as a result of the display, Alpha News reported.
Methodist Hospital has placed a new statement near the display.
“In hosting the GFGM exhibit, we acknowledge the continuing impact and importance of what took place in our community. The pieces in the exhibit reflect the voices of those who left them behind. These voices contain pain, anger, sadness, frustration, and hope. Viewing the exhibit, you may feel some of these same emotions,” it reads.
The hospital said they want the exhibit to help build a community where everyone is “welcomed, valued, and included.”
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
