How a small elite college in Maine influenced Zohran Mamdani's world view

"It wasn't so much what Zohran Mamdani said. It was how he said it. "We're going to stand up for Haiti, because you taught the world about freedom!" the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York exclaimed to an elated crowd at a Haitian music festival in June, fresh off his upset victory in the primary. Mamdani pronounced the island nation's name " AH-ee-tee " - near-perfect Creole elocution."

""When I heard him say that, I smiled," recalled Brian Purnell, one of Mamdani's former professors at Bowdoin College. He also noted that Mamdani's reference to freedom was a nod to Haiti's status as the first republic founded by former slaves. "That's straight out of the lessons from the Haitian Revolution that we teach in Africana studies," said Purnell, who is now the chair of the Africana studies department at Mamdani's alma mater. "I will claim that," he added with a laugh."

"If Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York, as polls suggest, he will be mold-breaking in striking ways. He would be the first Muslim, the first democratic socialist and, at 34, among the youngest to hold the office. He would also become one of the most visible representations of a new generation of progressives - whose formative years as young adults were shaped by elite colleges where, over the last decade, theories of social and racial justice became even more deeply ingrained in liberal arts education."

Zohran Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin College in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Africana studies. His Bowdoin education included readings of critical race theorists and campus activism for left-wing causes. Mamdani's Creole elocution and references to Haiti's revolutionary history reflect Africana studies teaching. If elected mayor, he would be the first Muslim, the first democratic socialist and, at 34, among the youngest to hold the office. His candidacy represents a new generation of progressives shaped by elite liberal arts colleges where theories of social and racial justice have become more deeply ingrained. Critics contend such programs steep students in leftist dogma.

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