Minneapolis, Minnesota - In Minneapolis, several hundred locals have gathered to protest against the clearing of George Floyd Square.

"Long Live George Floyd Square" said one spectator, as he watched makeshift memorials and dedications disappear.

A little more than a year after the killing of George Floyd, city employees removed concrete barriers, flowers, and artwork from the site of the former crime scene on Thursday, the New York Times reported.

The city has made promises to erect a permanent memorial to Floyd, but nothing has materialized.

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The goal of the clearance was to reopen the intersection to traffic, a city spokeswoman told CNN.

"This intersection will never return to normal," she stressed, adding that officials were working to keep as much artwork as possible – including the preservation of a statue in the shape of a clenched fist that stands in the middle of the intersection.

Following the city's barricade removal, protesters erected new barriers made of household items, lawn chairs, and even a clothes dryer, to keep the city out of the site. Protests have remained peaceful.

Floyd's aunt spoke up in outrage, and said she was never notified of the decision to reopen traffic. She tearfully explained that she will never be able to "drive by every day as if nothing happened."

Floyd's violent death on May 25, 2020 sparked worldwide demonstrations against racism and police violence and was a turning point in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ex-officer Derek Chauvin forced an unarmed Floyd to the ground outside a convenience store at the intersection of E 38th Street and Chicago Avenue and pressed his knee to his neck for over nine minutes – until Floyd could no longer breathe.

Chauvin was found guilty of murder on all counts, but is still awaiting sentencing.