Mamdani Said He Was ‘African American’ on Columbia University Application

(Daily Wire)—New York City’s Democratic Mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani does not consider himself to be black — but that did not stop him from checking the “African-American” box in addition to the “Asian” box on his application to attend Columbia University.

The New York Times revealed the information — discovered through a hack of the university and then shared with the outlet — in a report published on Thursday afternoon, just ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend.

GIFT LINK:
SCOOP: Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application

I report with @DanaRubinstein and @NPFandos for @NYTimeshttps://t.co/pV7xvNYprB

— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) July 3, 2025

Though both of his parents are of Indian descent, Mamdani was born in Uganda and spent his early childhood there. He has said that he considers himself “an American who was born in Africa,” not black or African American — and instead, he has leaned in to his South Asian ancestry and his Muslim faith.

“As the first South Asian elected official, the first Muslim elected official to ever run for mayor, the turnout in those same communities has been incredible to see,” he said after besting disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the primary.

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