Copyright The New York Times
It wasn’t so much what Zohran Mamdani said. It was how he said it. “We’re going to stand up for Haiti, because you taught the world about freedom!” the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, exclaimed to an elated crowd at a Haitian music festival in June, fresh off his upset victory in the primary. Mr. Mamdani pronounced the island nation’s name “AH-ee-tee” — near-perfect Creole elocution. “When I heard him say that, I smiled,” recalled Brian Purnell, one of Mr. Mamdani’s former professors at Bowdoin College. He also noted that Mr. Mamdani’s reference to freedom was a nod to Haiti’s status as the first republic founded by former slaves. “That’s straight out of the lessons from the Haitian Revolution that we teach in Africana studies,” said Dr. Purnell, who is now the chair of the Africana studies department at Mr. Mamdani’s alma mater. “I will claim that,” he added with a laugh. If Mr. Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York, as polls suggest, he will be mold-breaking in striking ways. He would be the first Muslim, the first democratic socialist and, at 34, among the youngest to hold the office. He would also become one of the most visible representations of a new generation of progressives — whose formative years as young adults were shaped by elite colleges where, over the last decade, theories of social and racial justice became even more deeply ingrained in liberal arts education. Mr. Mamdani graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, with a bachelor’s degree in Africana studies. And his experience there — readings of critical race theorists in the classroom and activism for left-wing causes on campus — is emblematic of the highly charged debate over what is taught in American universities. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
