New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic State Representative Zohran Mamdani. Image: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Zohran Mamdani: The link between New York City’s mayoral candidate and SA
Self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani is poised to make history in New York City. Here’s how he shares a connection with South Africa.
New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic State Representative Zohran Mamdani. Image: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Democratic Party officials have confirmed Zohran Mamdani as their candidate for New York City mayor.
At 33, he is poised to make history as the Big Apple’s first Muslim and millennial mayor in one of the world’s most diverse cities.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ZOHRAN MAMDANI
- Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, raised briefly Cape Town post-apartheid and later moved to New York when he was seven.
- The 33-year-old was enrolled at St George’s Grammar School in Little Mowbray, Cape Town, during his family’s stint in the Mother City.
- His father Mahmood Mamdani is a renowned author and scholar who also served as a professor of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town between 1996 and 1999. His mother, Mira Nair is also a renowned film director.
- He is a graduate of the New York City Public School System; he attended the Bronx High School of Science and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College.
- In 2018, Zohran became naturalised as an American citizen and is proud to be the first South Asian man to serve in the New York State Assembly as well as the first Ugandan and only the third Muslim to ever be a member of the body.
WHAT DOES HE ADVOCATE FOR?
According to the New York State Assembly government website, Zohran fights every day for a future where every New Yorker lives a dignified life and where the market does not determine the distribution of that dignity.
Additionally, Mamdani says he is running for mayor to freeze rent, make buses fast and free, and deliver free universal childcare.