NYC Democrat Mayoral Nominee Claimed to Be African American on Columbia Application

In a revelation sure to spark controversy just days before Independence Day, it was revealed that New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani falsely identified himself as “African American” on his Columbia University application even though he now openly rejects that label.

The information came to light through hacked university records and was reported by The New York Times, which confirmed that Mamdani, who is of Indian descent and was born in Uganda, checked both the “African-American” and “Asian” boxes on his application. His parents are not Black, and Mamdani himself has never publicly identified as Black in any other context.

His explanation? College applications didn’t allow for more “nuanced” identities. “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 claimed.

But the truth is clear Columbia, like many elite universities at the time, used affirmative action practices that favored applicants who identified as Black or African American. And Mamdani now a proud South Asian progressive with a growing political career benefited from that system by falsely presenting himself as something he never claimed to be again.

Let’s break it down:

• Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, making him ethnically South Asian not African American by any stretch of standard definition.

• He now promotes himself as the “first South Asian and first Muslim” elected official to run for mayor, not as Black or African American.

• He admitted to checking the Black box on “other college applications” as well, raising broader questions about opportunism.

• He has never referred to himself as Black in public speeches or interviews, according to The New York Times.

While Mamdani tries to spin this as an identity complexity issue, it reeks of the same racial box-checking strategy that’s been used for decades by ambitious elites trying to game the system. Harvard, Columbia, and other Ivy League institutions became playgrounds for those willing to twist racial definitions to get ahead while truly disadvantaged Americans were left behind.

And the Democratic Party once again turns a blind eye when one of their rising stars benefits from the very system they claim to champion against abuse.

The question isn't just whether Mamdani lied to gain an admissions edge. The real issue is whether voters can trust a man who retroactively redefines his identity to suit his political ambitions. If he’s willing to play fast and loose with the truth on something as fundamental as race, what else is he willing to distort?

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