From hope and hunger strikes to City Hall: The rise of Zohran Mamdani

t was February 2020.

At the time, I read of a young man named Zohran Mamdani, running for an assembly seat in Astoria, Queens. 

I thought the name sounded familiar and it wasn't long before the penny dropped and it became obvious that he was the son of the Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani - whom many of us had read to better understand the so-called War on Terror - and famed director Mira Nair - whom many of us had admired for her intimate socio-cultural commentaries.

Curious, I wrote to his campaign team and asked if I could have a call with him. 

As someone with a background similar to my own, being of South Asian origin from the African continent, Mamdani felt like a familiar figure.

Read more: From hope and hunger strikes to City Hall: The rise of Zohran Mamdani