Boston Mayor Michelle Wu didn’t hold back in her third annual State of the City Address, delivering a powerful message that Boston will stand firm in its values — no matter the political pressure. Speaking at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway March 19, Wu reaffirmed the city’s dedication to diversity, education and protecting its most vulnerable residents. New and improved programs her administration enacted were the highlight of the night, garnering multiple standing ovations.

Wu revealed plans for a new Business Recruitment Office to fill commercial vacancies, attract talent and continue revitalizing downtown Boston. Additionally, she shared that by next summer, 1,000 new homes will be built in the downtown area through an expanded office-to-residential program, which will include partnerships with universities and companies to create residence halls and workforce housing.

“No one tells Boston how to take care of our own,” Wu said, referencing her recent testimony before the House Oversight Committee in Washington, where she defended Boston’s “sanctuary city” policies. Standing before Congress earlier this month, Wu’s presence was notable not just for her words, but for her actions: She brought her 2-month-old daughter along, a quiet yet powerful symbol of the future she’s fighting for.

“I welcomed my daughter into this world. The truth is, it’s not the world I expected or hoped for her,” Wu said. “I want her to grow up in a country that’s admired, not feared. A country stable and safe, not one that feels like it’s coming apart at the seams. I want her to grow up in the America that Paul Revere rode for, that Dr. [Martin Luther] King marched for, that my parents left home for.”

Wu’s speech struck a defiant tone, pushing back against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken diversity initiatives, including executive orders dismantling federal diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies. While these moves fueled controversy, Wu made clear that Boston sees diversity as a strength, not a threat.

“People are feeling the weight of a federal administration that’s attacking our sources of strength, the same people and purpose that make Boston great: public servants and veterans; immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community; the institutions that conduct groundbreaking research and provide lifesaving care,” Wu said.

At the heart of Wu’s message was a reminder that Boston is, above all, a family — one that won’t be divided.

“My voice represents the 700,000 voices that gave Congress their answer: This is our city,” Wu said.

Placing an emphasis on her commitment to residents, Wu mentioned rising energy costs. She noted the ways in which the city plans to alleviate households strained by energy bills. She highlighted the Boston Community Choice Electricity program, established in late 2020, and announced the Boston Energy Saver, a “historic new partnership with Eversource and National Grid that will deliver more than $150 million in state funding” for Boston residents to upgrade their homes, lower bills and deliver affordable energy. 

Another achievement Wu announced was the tentative three-year agreement reached with the Boston Teachers Union. The agreement not only uplifts the educators, nurses and counselors included in the contract, Wu emphasized in her speech, but also Boston Public Schools students, leading to “improved in-classroom staffing levels for students with disabilities,” said President of the Boston Teachers Union Erik Berg in an interview with WCVB-TV Boston.

Wu’s speech left Bostonians feeling empowered and understanding the importance of community. 

“[The city is] going to try to put Boston together; that means one city, one community [and] everybody tries to appreciate what the other one is doing,” said Robert Louijuene in an interview with The Huntington News, a Haitian community leader and the father of Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijuene. When asked about the work the mayor and the Boston City Council have accomplished this year, he said: “Everyone puts their head together and creates one Boston.” 

While creating a more unified community was a recurring theme throughout Wu’s speech, others felt that Wu failed to uplift certain issues. 

“I would’ve loved to have heard more around trans and LGBTQ support,” said City Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia. “We’re looking at what’s happening across the federal government, they’re attacking our trans and LGBTQ+ communities. … I felt like that was a missed opportunity.”

The federal government has increasingly targeted LGBTQ+ communities through actions like removing references to transgender individuals and other marginalized groups from official websites. This effort, largely tied to President Donald Trump’s executive orders limiting DEI policies, has resulted in the deletion of web content recognizing the identities of women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people across several agencies. Historians like Laurie Marhoefer, a specialist on the history of Weimar and Nazi Germany at the University of Washington studying transgender and queer history, warn that this kind of erasure is often a precursor to further discrimination, stripping away visibility and recognition from already marginalized communities.

“Transgender people are the canary in the coal mine of democracy,” Marhoefer said in an interview with NPR covering the targeting of transgender people.

Wu ended the night with a declaration that served as both a warning and a promise: Boston will always stand up for its people. 

“God bless our city, God bless our people and God save whoever messes with Boston.”