Josh Bassais: What George Floyd Square taught me about the leadership Minneapolis needs

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Five years after George Floyd’s murder, the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue S. in Minneapolis still draws people from around the world. But for the people who work here every day, it’s not a headline. It’s home.

These businesses have kept their doors open through protests, reconstruction and long winters. What wears on folks isn’t the work, it’s watching the City Council talk this neighborhood in circles.

Over the last few years, City Hall has spent nearly $3 million on constituent engagement and studies to decide what should happen at this intersection. The frustrating part is that the answer has never really been in doubt. A strong majority of residents and business owners have said, again and again, that the Open Flexible Plan is the right path forward: a design that reopens traffic, preserves a permanent memorial and brings stability to the blocks around it. It’s the plan people agreed on. The City Council just never acted.

Instead, meeting after meeting piled up. Reports gathered dust. Barricades stayed in place.

Every new “engagement process” felt like déjà vu. Meanwhile, the intersection meant to honor George Floyd’s life often looks neglected — cracked pavement, broken lighting, boarded windows. That’s not a memorial; that’s a failure to follow through. You don’t honor someone’s legacy by leaving a community in limbo.

That’s why I’m running for Ward 8 City Council.

I’m not a newcomer looking for a platform. I grew up in public housing, am raising my kids in Minneapolis Public Schools, and spent years serving as a union representative and neighborhood board president. I know what it feels like when the government promises something and then drifts away. I try to show up quietly, ask questions first and listen longer than I talk.

It sounds simple, but it’s rare these days. Too much of our local politics has been steered by a small activist circle that confuses loudness with representation. They mean well, but too often treat the people who actually live here as an afterthought — deciding what’s “best” for communities they barely know. That’s not how democracy works. Real leadership means hearing from everyone, especially the people living and working in the places City Hall keeps studying.

When I spent time with the business owners at George Floyd Square, I didn’t come in to lecture about ideas. I asked what would make their businesses safer and their streets feel like home again. Then I listened. That’s how you rebuild trust — slowly, consistently. I support the Open Flexible Plan because it’s what the community has asked for, not because it checks an ideological box. Reopening the intersection responsibly, improving public safety and supporting small businesses are not competing priorities. They’re all part of making this neighborhood whole again.

Many people see George Floyd Square as a national symbol. For the folks who live and work here, it’s simpler. They want customers to reach them, employees to feel safe walking home, and their children to see that Minneapolis keeps its word. They want George Floyd’s name remembered for action, not delay.

I’m proud to be endorsed by Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins, who has represented this community with strength and care. She knows this work, she knows this neighborhood, and she trusts my commitment to continue showing up for residents and business owners.

The people who live and work here have spoken. The studies are finished. The consensus is real. What’s missing is the political will to follow through. If I have the honor of serving on the City Council, I’ll bring the focus and urgency needed to finally move from talk to action. That’s how we honor this place. That’s how we honor George Floyd’s legacy. And that’s how we begin rebuilding trust in our city.