NYC’s Socialist Darling Said He Was Both ‘Asian’ And ‘African American’ On Ivy League Application

Despite emphasizing his Muslim background during his campaign, Democrat New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani marked himself as both “Asian” and “African American” on his Columbia University application in 2009, according to The New York Times.

Prior to securing the Democrat mayoral nomination in June, Mamdani ran against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, frequently highlighting his upbringing and Muslim identity to connect with New York City voters. However, according to internal data shared with the NYT from Columbia University’s 2021 data breach, Mamdani selected “Asian” and “Black or African American” as his racial identity on the Ivy League application.

During an interview in response to the NYT’s findings, Mamdani told the outlet he did not consider himself “Black or African American” but rather “an American who was born in Africa.” Acknowledging that he did check off the boxes, the socialist Democrat told the outlet he wrote in “Ugandan,” as the application allowed applicants to provide “more specific information where relevant.”

“Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background,” Mamdani said.

“Even though these boxes are constraining, I wanted my college application to reflect who I was,” Mamdani added.

In the 1960s, Columbia began implementing its earliest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, including moves to de-emphasize standardized tests and increase recruitment of black students, according to Columbia Magazine. Over time, the university and other institutes went on to expand DEI initiatives, offering potential advantages for diverse applicants.