Vantage Point Vignette
Comments and Commentary by Dr. Ron Daniels
Sunday September 28th I was delighted to attend the massive Zohran Mamdani Get Out the Vote Rally at the historic Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY with a prominent Pastor from my neighborhood. Though there was a chill in the air as the Autumn sun began to set, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of some 13,000 supporters who packed the stadium. The rally was clearly staged to provide Mamdani with an impressive backdrop to make his closing argument to New Yorkers, the nation and the world for why he should become the next Mayor of America’s largest city and the financial capital of the world. And there was plenty of star power to fire up the crowd, not the least of which was the brilliant and charismatic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the venerable, iconic Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Assembly Speaker Carl Hastie and New York Senate Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins also joined this formidable line-up.
From left, Sen. Bernie Sanders, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, at a rally in New York.
Leading up to the speeches by headliners and Zohran, there was an impressive line-up of community organizers, heads of social service agencies, artists/cultural workers and faith leaders and last but not least heads of unions, most of whom were dynamic young people. It was impossible to miss the fact that young people were a huge part of the participants at this massive rally. It was also impossible to miss the unapologetic thematic emphasis on Democratic Socialism, the plight, interest and aspirations of poor and working people — the working class. Mamdani’s electrifying campaign/movement and affordability agenda is clearly aimed at dramatically improving the quality of life of the working class. It is the most promising campaign/movement since the 1984 and 1988 Campaigns of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson under the umbrella of the Rainbow Coalition – which stressed “economic common ground.”
Make no mistake about it, Mamdani is far and away the best candidate for advancing and protecting the interests and aspirations for poor and working people, the working class, including people of African descent, Black people and people of color nationalities. It’s not even close. However, there is a constructive, cautionary note which I would like to offer as a longstanding proponent of independent Black politics and a third force in American politics. It is important to ask the question: Does Mamdani have a Black Agenda? In fact, this is a question that should be posed to any candidate for any office at any level by Black voters. In this election that would include Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. However, I focus on Mamdani because he is highly likely to win and because there is a long and troubling history of liberal, progressive and socialist movements and candidates emphasizing “class” while only mentioning “race.”
The crux of the issue is the fear that addressing issues of concern to Black voters will alienate White people and White voters. In this election, I am focusing on Mamdani because his campaign and movement is clearly based on the ideological tenets of socialism. Indeed, Cuomo, Sliwa and Mayor Adams are engaging in fear-mongering and red baiting in a desperate attempt to defeat Mamdani. This opportunism is unfortunate and unprincipled because it flies in the face of a rich history of African Americans from A. Philip Randolph to WEB DuBois, Dr. Cornel West and Councilman/ Assemblyman Charles Barron who embraced socialism and Dr. Martin Luther King who often expressed his preference for “socialistic” policies. So, this cautionary note is in no way a rejection of socialism. It is a concern about a historic, troubling tendency to prioritize “class” while deemphasizing “race” and racial remedies.
Circling back to Mamdani’s spectacular rally in Forest Hills Stadium, the strong support expressed by labor leaders was no doubt because they believe that his affordability agenda will benefit their members by increases in wages and benefits gained though favorable contracts agreed to by a champion of labor and the working class as Mayor. Black workers and their families will be among the beneficiaries. The same applies when there is a freeze on rent, larger numbers of affordable housing units are built, bus service is free and there are municipal stores where groceries are less costly. Black people will benefit from all of these excellent policy initiatives. It is the conventional notion that “a rising tide lifts all boats;” a notion that is largely true and commendable but does not address the unique needs of particular constituencies and groups, especially people of African descent, Black people who have been and continue to be impacted by racism.
Zohran Mamdani campaign ad
One of the wildly popular and effective slogans that Mamdani repeated time and time again at his potentially milestone rally was: “New York is Not for Sale.” But, the multiplicity of disparities, inequities and psycho-cultural wounds Black people suffer from today in New York are directly attributable to the fact that our ancestors were brutally captured in our motherland Africa and sold into enslavement on auction blocks on Wall Street; enslavement which enriched banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and families who benefited from the trade and the extraction of wealth from free labor; enslavement with its “lingering effects” which show-up today in the wealth gap, debilitating disparities in health, education, housing, redlining, gentrification, internal gun-violence, fratricide/murders, discriminatory policing practices, mass incarceration and the under-development of Black neighborhoods and communities! These are the consequences of white supremacy and institutional racism.
The huge rally was awe-inspiring and yet, Mamdani, this amazingly talented, generational leader did not mention or endorse reparations as a remedy or offer policies to address the displacement of Black people and Black culture in neighborhoods across New York through gentrification; or suggest substantial investments in Black neighborhoods to combat gun-violence and fratricide/murders. Mamdani’s affordability, class-based agenda will certainly benefit Black working class people, but it does not explicitly mention or address the effects of systemic/institutional racism; it does not address the fact that “race matters.” Hence, the need for Black people to formulate a Black Agenda to advance and protect Black interests and aspirations.
All signs point to a historic victory for Zohran Mamdani on November 4th. Black voters, including African American and Continental African Muslims, will comprise a significant force in his triumphant coalition. After a celebratory moment, it is imperative that Mayor Mamdani huddle with the Working Families Party (he’s running as a Democrat and on the Working Families Party ballot line) and a cross-section of Black leadership to belatedly discuss a Black Agenda; policy prescriptions which specifically advance and protect the interests and aspirations of Black People! Mayor Mamdani can decisively break the pattern of socialists emphasizing “class” over “race.” New York City and America will be better for his example!
