Robin Wonsley: ‘It’s absolutely brought us together’

Tyler Church
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:01:17 +0000
Community Voices

Robin Wonsley is a member and minority leader of the Minneapolis City Council, representing Ward 2, including the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Dinkytown, Como and many other areas where students reside. Before her tenure on the City’s Council, Wonsley served as the program coordinator for the University’s Women’s Center and was a Ph.D. candidate for the University’s Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Department.

“I moved here for college, and after college I continued to stay here, organizing with my community. I actually worked here at the University of Minnesota, went to graduate school for a few years here, and now I get to work with students.

“My experience [with Operation Metro Surge] has happened during my tenure on the City Council, but we know ICE has always been in our communities. They’ve always been in our state. We saw the ramping up that not only led to the detainment of potentially thousands of our neighbors. We have now had two of our beloved community members shot and killed, with a third also shot, five-year-olds get abducted, schools be terrorized. It’s been completely devastating, but we’ve also seen just admirable resistance to these efforts, seeing Minneapolis become a beacon of light and inspiration for the country on how to resist Trump.

“It’s absolutely brought us together. And I think it builds upon the lessons learned in 2020, when George Floyd was murdered at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. We saw from that one of the largest social rights movements being birthed. A lot of the lessons we put into practice during that time, because the government and everyone else had abandoned us, we’re seeing this moment. It’s fostering a greater community. It’s fostering a sharper political resistance to the status quo. That growth is really beautiful to see, and our neighbors are benefitting from it.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview by Tyler Church