Robin Wonsley
Robin Wonsley | |
---|---|
Member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 2nd Ward | |
Assumed office January 3, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Cam Gordon |
Personal details | |
Born | Robin Wonsley 1991 (age 32–33) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic Socialist[1] |
Residence | Seward, Minneapolis |
Education | Carleton College St. Thomas University |
Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
Website | Ward 2 - Robin Wonsley |
Robin Wonsley (born 1991) is an American activist and Democratic Socialist politician who is a member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 2nd Ward.
Early life and education
Wonsley was born in Chicago in 1991 and grew up on the South Side. She attended Carleton College as a Posse Foundation[2] Scholar and graduated in 2013 with a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies.[3] After graduation, she was awarded a Watson Fellowship that supported her travel to Canada, Australia, South Africa and Ireland, where she studied criminal justice policies and practices.[3] She moved to Minneapolis in 2014 and became the program coordinator for the University of Minnesota Women's Center and a board member for Restorative Justice Community Action.[4]
She completed a mini MBA in Nonprofit Management from St. Thomas University in 2015[5] and began a Ph.D. program at the University of Minnesota in 2018.[6] During her Ph.D. program, she conducted research on housing and racial disparities,[4] and completed her Ph.D in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies.[7]
Career
After the 2015 killing of Jamar Clark by police officers in Minneapolis, she became politically active over the next several years, including in the Black Lives Matter movement and Fight for $15 organizing efforts to raise the minimum wage in the city.[6][4] She joined the Twin Cities chapter of Democratic Socialists of America in March 2020.[8] In the summer of 2020, she participated in the George Floyd protests.[9] She also became an organizer in the defund the police movement, an effort to reallocate some community resources towards crime prevention services and programs.[9]
Minneapolis City Council
In 2021, she became the first Black Democratic Socialist to win a seat on the Minneapolis City Council after she defeated 14 year incumbent Cam Gordon, a member of the Green Party of Minnesota.[8][10][11] The election also became the first time Minneapolis elected a majority of people of color to the city council.[12][13]
Wonsley represents the 2nd Ward,[12] which includes the neighborhoods of Cedar-Riverside, Como, Cooper, Longfellow, Prospect Park, Seward, and the University District.[1] After the election, she identified housing as a major issue for the ward, and rent control as one of her policy priorities.[13] She also advocated for the development of policy to address encampments in Minneapolis and the needs of encampment residents[14][15] and joined four other councilmembers in supporting the development of a rent control policy.[16] In January 2022, she called for a stop to evictions from homeless encampments, and was joined at a protest against eviction at the Near North homeless encampment by councilmembers Elliot Payne, Jeremiah Ellison, Jason Chavez, and Aisha Chughtai.[15]
Personal life
In 2017, she married her husband in Liberia.[6] She resides in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis.[13]
References
- ^ a b "A guide to the 2021 Minneapolis mayor and City Council candidates". Star Tribune. October 1, 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Wonsley, Robin (May 6, 2020). "The Revolution is My Boyfriend". Minneapolis Interview Project. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Robin Wonsley Worlobah". Carleton Global Engagement. Carleton College. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Hendrickson, Samantha (March 4, 2021). "Minneapolis Ward 2 City Council challenger brings grassroots approach to change". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "About Robin Wonsley". The City of Minneapolis. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Duggan, JD (August 18, 2021). "Minneapolis' Ward 2 has two strong third-party candidates running for City Council. They agree that capitalism is failing people". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Stambaugh, Evan (March 27, 2022). "Minneapolis Council Member Wants to Consider a City 'Without Police'". Tennessee Star. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ a b Birnstengel, Grace; Collins, Jon (November 9, 2021). "Socialism comes to the Minneapolis City Council". MPR News. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ a b Michaels, Samantha (August 19, 2021). ""Defund the Police" Was a Rallying Cry in 2020. Minneapolis Is About to Vote on What That Means". Mother Jones. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Minneapolis, St. Paul election results 2021: Mayor, city council, charter amendments, other local races". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ a b Du, Susan (November 3, 2021). "A Minneapolis first: Candidates of color win a majority of City Council seats". Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ a b c King, RB (December 22, 2021). "Mpls City Council newcomer Robin Wonsley lays out her vision". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Moini, Nina (January 14, 2022). "2020 Minneapolis park encampments". MPR News. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ a b Feland, Hayley (January 24, 2022). "Newly Elected Minneapolis Council Member Makes Statement After Defending Homeless Encampment from Eviction". Tennessee Star. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Mahamud, Faiza (January 13, 2022). "Minneapolis council debate on rent control starts to take shape". Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
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