MINNEAPOLIS: With its covering of flowers, candles and stuffed toys, George Floyd Square has long been a place of mourning and remembrance.

But on Wednesday people gathered on the Minneapolis street where the Black man was murdered by a white police officer, daring to hope for change less than 24 hours after a guilty verdict was announced.

Despite the freezing spring temperatures of the Midwest city, local resident Richard Moody, 64, said he came "to pay my respects and hope that it's going to be a better day."

The square, which likely would have been the epicenter of new protests had former police officer Derek Chauvin been acquitted, has instead become a sanctuary where people bring mementos and posters, and even come to dance.

A white woman, kneeling in meditation, burned some herbs.

Another, her child in front of her, took a selfie in front of a metal sculpture of a closed fist which now dominates the intersection.

All the shops have stayed open, despite the tensions that swirled around the three-week trial, including "Cup Foods" where Floyd was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, triggering the deadly interaction with Chauvin.