A video of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani categorically saying that he does not identify himself as a Black person or as an African-American person has gone viral after the New York Times reported that he actually did exactly that -- on the application to Columbia University. The report said he checked the Asian race box but also "Black or African American".
In the viral video, he categorically said he does not want to identify as an African-American like Elon Musk as that would be misleading. "Are you Arab, Indian? You look ambiguous. You look weird," Mamdani was asked in the viral video.
"I'm an Indian, Ugandan, New Yorker," Mamdani said.
"Okay, so you're African-American. So would you claim the African-American status like Elon Musk?" Mamdani was asked.
With a smile, Mamdani said he would not claim that status. The person who was interviewing Mamdani doubled down and asked why he would not consider himself as an African while he grew up in Uganda and his middle name is Kwame.
"I am," Mamdani said, adding that he is proud to be Ugandan. "But I think that this is misleading," Mamdani said referring to African-American status.
Is Zohran Mamdani black ?
Reacting to the NYT finding that Mamdani indeed identified himself as Black in Columbia application form, Mamdani said he does not consider himself either Black or African American. but an American who was born in Africa, He said his race in the college application form was an attempt to represent his "complex background" given the limited choices before him, not to get any racial advantage and he was not even accepted at Columbia.
“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 told NYT.
Mamdani was born in Uganda to Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair. Neither of his parents is African. Mahmood Mamdani was born in India and was raised in Uganda. Mira Nair was born in India and later became an American citizen.
In the viral video, he categorically said he does not want to identify as an African-American like Elon Musk as that would be misleading. "Are you Arab, Indian? You look ambiguous. You look weird," Mamdani was asked in the viral video.
A Black woman asked Zohran Mamdani if he identifies as Black or African American and Mamdani replied he would never do that. Turns out he would and did. Circumventing “bourgeois truth” is always justified in the service of socialist revolution. pic.twitter.com/W7K0xdDn5p
— Rob Henderson (@robkhenderson) July 4, 2025
"I'm an Indian, Ugandan, New Yorker," Mamdani said.
"Okay, so you're African-American. So would you claim the African-American status like Elon Musk?" Mamdani was asked.
With a smile, Mamdani said he would not claim that status. The person who was interviewing Mamdani doubled down and asked why he would not consider himself as an African while he grew up in Uganda and his middle name is Kwame.
"I am," Mamdani said, adding that he is proud to be Ugandan. "But I think that this is misleading," Mamdani said referring to African-American status.
Is Zohran Mamdani black ?
Reacting to the NYT finding that Mamdani indeed identified himself as Black in Columbia application form, Mamdani said he does not consider himself either Black or African American. but an American who was born in Africa, He said his race in the college application form was an attempt to represent his "complex background" given the limited choices before him, not to get any racial advantage and he was not even accepted at Columbia.
“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 told NYT.
Mamdani was born in Uganda to Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair. Neither of his parents is African. Mahmood Mamdani was born in India and was raised in Uganda. Mira Nair was born in India and later became an American citizen.
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