https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/153152 ... k-assembly
Prof. Mamdani's son elected to New York state assembly
By David Lumu
Added 7th November 2020
US LECTIONS:
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the son of renowned Ugandan scholar, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani and international filmmaker, Mira Nair, has been elected as the representative of Astoria in the New York state assembly.
Zohran, 29, who acquired the US citizenship three years ago, is the first South Asian of Ugandan origin to be elected into the lower house of the New York City state legislature, according to reports by American media.
Mamdani is not only the first Indian, but also the third Muslim ever elected to the assembly, according to media reports.
Prof. Mamdani's son carried the Democratic Party ticket and won by 72% to represent Astoria, a multi-ethnic desi area.
The rapper cum-politician was born and raised in Uganda.
"It is official: We won. I am going to Albany to fight to tax the rich, heal the sick, house the poor and build a socialist New York. But I cannot do it alone. To win socialism, we will need a mass movement of the multiracial working class as well. So, let's build one," he said shortly after he was declared winner on Wednesday.
"Three years ago, I applied for my citizenship. Three days ago, I lined up to vote in my first presidential election and in three months, I will be Astoria's next Assembly member. Much love to every person that made this happen. Alone, I am just an individual. With you, I am part of a movement," he added, pledging to ensure that the wealthy are taxed, pass the universal rent control laws and stop the construction of a fracked gas power plant in Astoria.
"What every member of the multi-racial working class has in common is that together, their labour built this country and that together, they have the power to take it back," he said.
It is estimated that there are about 300,000 South Asians in New York City.
Prior to campaigns, Zohran worked as a foreclosure housing counselor at Chhaya, an advocacy group based in Queens, New York.
His campaign slogan was — bread and roses, which he said, captured the experiences of immigrants in New York.
Zohran, who was born in Uganda, arrived in New York at the age of seven. He says after graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, his life was largely divided between Uganda and the US.
In Uganda, he cut his teeth as a rapper, but when he finally settled in the US, he ventured into housing, and now politics.
Commenting about her son's win, Nair said: "And Zohran is in! Change is going to come."
Prof. Mamdani, the head of Makerere University Institute of Social Research, was a firebrand left-wing scholar at the university and was in the early 1980s expelled by the Obote II regime over his critical views. He also lectured in South Africa and, later, the US.
Efforts to speak to Mamdani yesterday were unsuccessful as he was reportedly out of the country.
