New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, running as a Democrat, has shaken up the political world by coming out on top at the recent New York City mayoral primary election. But Mamdani’s being taken to task for a move from his past that has a lot of folks looking at him in a new light.
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Mamdani is a Muslim immigrant born in Uganda and is running on a socialist platform. As he made his rounds around the city, gearing up to run for mayor and speaking to the people of New York, he was self-identifying as a Muslim immigrant of South Asian descent.
But it was recently discovered that, according to the New York Times, although he does not identify as Black, he did so while applying for Columbia University when he checked off the “Asian” and “Black of African American” box on the school’s application. In a recent interview, the 33-year-old stated that he does not consider himself to be a Black or African American man. But, he stated that he is “an American who was born in Africa.”
Although he was not accepted into the Ivy League institution, he did state that he felt stating those two selections would have better represented his background more effectively.
“Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background,” said Mamdani. He pointed out that he correctly input that he was Ugandan in the space provided. “Even though these boxes are constraining, I wanted my college application to reflect who I was.”
Yet, it seems a bit troubling that when the mayoral candidate could have utilized his African roots to his advantage, he did so with seemingly no abandon, but makes no mention of being from the motherland as he is currently campaigning. It would be speculation that he may feel that his self-identity as a Black man may be more of an inconvenience than an advantage, which doesn’t make sense in a city as diverse as New York.
Or, maybe, since New York has already had, not one, but two Black mayors and not a person who identifies as a Muslim or a South Asian. It may be a better look to try to become the first of either or both as the mayor of New York. Maybe that thought has crossed his mind, especially at a time when politicians are trying to break barriers in this time?
It may be a better sell to the New Yorkers who have embraced immigrants in the city, and since we are a sanctuary city, and (according to Republicans and white people who never understood the real meaning of woke) “woke,” the people of New York, who are always looking for change may be more willing to “hire an outsider” who isn’t a white, straight male.
There is also a possibility — and there has been no documented proof so I’m not writing this as an accusation — that it stuck in the back of Mamdani’s mind that in some Asian communities, Blacks are still not viewed favorably and that thought could possibly stick to the back of his mind.
After winning the primaries, in an interview with NPR, Mamdani took notice and credit for the turnout in Asian and Muslim communities for the Mayoral primary. “As the first South Asian elected official, the first Muslim elected official to ever run for mayor, the turnout in those same communities has been incredible to see,” he said.
It’s been reported that it seems that the only time Mamdani refers to his African roots is when he is in front of a Black audience. He told a crowd in June at a speech he gave at Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
And, the current mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, also commented on the convenience of Mamdani applying as an African American on his college application.
“The African American identity is not a check-box of convenience,” he said in a written statement. “It’s a history, a struggle, and a lived experience. For someone to exploit that for personal gain is deeply offensive.”
Time will tell if Mamdani only touts his native country when it works in his favor.
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