Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim Communist candidate for Mayor of New York City, has sparked discussions about identity politics after it was revealed that he identified as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his Columbia University college application.
This information came to light through internal data leaked from a hack of Columbia University, as reported by The New York Times.
At the time of his application, Columbia was employing an affirmative action admissions process. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, opted to check both the ‘Black’ and ‘Asian’ boxes, perhaps in hopes of enhancing his chances against other applicants.
In response to inquiries regarding his choices on the application, Mamdani told The New York Times that he was attempting to “capture the fullness” of his heritage.
“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 explained.
Ultimately, Mamdani was not accepted into Columbia University.
The New York Times reported:
As he campaigns for the mayoralty of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has highlighted his identity as a Muslim immigrant of South Asian descent as a central aspect of his platform. However, during his senior year of high school in 2009, Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, chose to identify as “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his application to Columbia University, according to internal data made available to The New York Times.
Columbia, like many prestigious institutions, employed a race-conscious affirmative action admissions framework at the time. Indicating that he was both Black or African American and Asian could have potentially provided Mamdani with an edge in the competitive admissions landscape, especially given his Ugandan roots.
In a recent interview, the 33-year-old Mamdani clarified that he does not see himself as either Black or African American, but rather as “an American who was born in Africa.” He asserted that his selections on the college application were an effort to reflect his intricate background within the constraints of the available categories, rather than a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage in the admissions process. (It’s noteworthy that he was ultimately rejected by Columbia.)
