Ugandan-born Zohran Mamdani Could Be New York City's History-Making New Mayor
The former rapper turned assemblymember could become NYC’s first South Asian and Muslim mayor, shaking up the City’s political establishment.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (second left) celebrates winning the Democratic Party candidacy, in the company of his wife and parents, at The Greats of Craft, Long Island City, New York, on June 24, 2025.
Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party in November’s New York City Mayoral race, celebrated his soon-to-be-confirmed win with a popularquote that is often attributed to former South African President Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
In a few months, Mamdani could be the first Muslim to be elected Mayor of New York City and the youngest to hold the office in over a century. His invocation of the famous quote is fitting, considering he ran against the much more experienced Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor who resigned from that office after being embroiled in a sexual harassment case. Despite the scandal, Cuomo received super PAC funding and endorsements. However, Mamdani ran a citizen-focused campaign centered around making New York City more affordable for its residents.
Mamdani could also make history as the first South Asian to be elected, as well as the first person named Kwame, to be the Mayor of New York City. His middle name, which he bears with great pride, was given to him by his father, Mahmood Mamdani, in honor of the former Ghanaian President and proud pan-Africanist, Kwame Nkrumah.
Mamdani, who currently serves as a New York state assemblymember, has strong ties to Africa beyond his middle name. He was born and partly raised in Kampala, Uganda. At the age of 7, he moved to New York, having previously lived in Cape Town, South Africa, for two years. His father was born in India and raised in Uganda, then moved to the U.S. for college as part of a group of 27 Ugandan students offered scholarships by the American government, a gift given to Uganda after it secured its independence.
“There’s no question in my mind that I’m Ugandan. There’s no question in my mind that I’m Indian. And there’s no question in my mind that I’m a New Yorker,” Mamdani toldAfrica Is a Country back in 2018, sharing that he’s learned to embrace the multiplicity of his heritage.
That cultural diversity was evident in his campaign, as he managed to galvanize support from white, Asian, and Latino voters in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Mamdani connected with many thanks to his vibrant campaign run, which saw him passionately discuss issues in a variety of settings, ranging from conventional speeches to a video of him jumping into the incredibly cold Atlantic Ocean as a sign of his plan to ensure a rent freeze for millions of New Yorkers.
Before being elected as an assemblymember, Mamdani was a foreclosure-prevention counselor, primarily working with low-income homeowners and tenants. He also moonlighted as a rapper under the pseudonym Young Cardamom. In 2016, he released a joint EP with Ugandan rap artist HAB, titled Sidda Mukyaalo, a conscious exploration of Uganda’s social terrain, ranging from its political situation to the relationships between black and brown people in the country.
“I am a 3rd generation Asian Ugandan whose family came to East Africa in the early 1900s,” Mamdani told OkayAfrica when the project dropped then, sharing context on his privileges in Uganda and the prejudices he faces living in the U.S.
Mamdani has attributed part of his grasp of societal context and drive for positive change to his father, Mahmood, who was arrested for participating in the civil rights protests in Montgomery, Alabama, while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1960s. Mahmood had joined students who made the long, cross-country trip down south to join campaigners; however, when he called the Ugandan embassy for help to be bailed out, he was rebuked for interfering in U.S. matters.
Mahmood is an accomplished commentator, author, and educator. He chaired the Center for African Studies at the University of Cape Town in the mid-1990s. He served as the director of the Institute of Social Research at Makerere University between 2010 and 2022.
Zohran Mamdani’s mother is the iconic Indian American filmmaker Mira Nair, director of the classic romantic drama Mississippi Masala and the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! Nair was born and raised in India, then moved to the U.S. for college and became an American citizen in 2006. She met Mahmood in Kampala while doing research for Mississippi Masala.
In his celebratory speech, Mamdani thanked his parents for their support, joking that he could now call them by their first names because he is a Democratic Party mayoral candidate. There’s still some time to go to achieve the ultimate goal of winning November’s election, as he’s expected to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who will be running as an independent candidate after federal corruption charges alienated him from the Democratic Party. There could also be another bid from Cuomo as an independent candidate.
It will be a stiff race. However, for a candidate with his strong convictions and captivating personality, doing the impossible could be the norm for Zohran Kwame Mamdani.
