Leadership Quote by Jacob Frey

Frey’s line is doing two jobs at once: branding and penance. “I want Minneapolis to be known” frames equity not only as policy but as reputation management, a bid to define the city’s story in the wake of national scrutiny. It’s aspirational, but also tactical: it shifts the conversation from what Minneapolis has been to what it could be, with the mayor positioned as narrator-in-chief.

The verbs matter. “Confronts” signals acknowledgment of hard truths rather than the softer civic habit of “celebrating diversity.” “Works to undo them” goes further, implying inequities are built, not accidental - and therefore can be dismantled. That’s a loaded claim for a politician, because it raises expectations: undoing inequity isn’t a ribbon-cutting project; it’s housing, policing, schools, wages, zoning, and who gets protected when budgets get tight.

Then comes the turn to “belonging,” the emotional bridge. “A city where everyone belongs” is deliberately capacious, designed to hold multiple audiences: Black residents demanding structural change, suburban moderates anxious about unrest, businesses watching investment risk, and progressives wary of empty symbolism. The subtext is reassurance: yes, we’ll talk about inequity, but the endpoint is a cohesive civic identity, not perpetual conflict.

The context is Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder - a city cast as both flashpoint and test case. Frey’s intent is to claim moral seriousness without naming the institutions that produce inequity, leaving room to maneuver. It’s a promise with strategically blurred edges: vivid enough to inspire, vague enough to survive governing.