Democrat and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is under fire after a New York Times report revealed he identified as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his 2009 college application to Columbia University.
The revelation, part of a trove of hacked admissions files released last month, has ignited a wave of outrage and ridicule, with critics accusing Mamdani of racial dishonesty to boost his chances of admission during the Ivy League’s then-active affirmative action era.
Mamdani ultimately did not get into Columbia, but the application in question is drawing new scrutiny as he runs for mayor on a campaign built largely on his South Asian and Muslim identity.
“Ugandan” but not Black
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, but both of his parents — filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani — are of Indian descent. In an interview with the Times, Mamdani admitted his family has no Black ancestry.
“They’re all of Indian origin, from Gujarat,” he said.
Yet on his Columbia application, Mamdani checked the box for “Black or African American.” He told the
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