"If you had told me in September 2001, when I was a new teacher in Washington, D.C. - the smoke from the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon still visible from my classroom window - that one day a Muslim socialist would be elected mayor of New York City, I might have thought you cruel for raising my hopes. I remember the tanks rolling down the street by my house, the flags unfurled from every porch demanding loyalty."
"Zohran Mamdani's victory as the new mayor of New York City has awakened a jubilant spirit among working people daring to dream of a better city and a better world. A candidate who ran in support of Palestine, who stood before the world as an unapologetic Muslim, who named himself an open socialist, and who named the mega-rich as the primary barrier to justice, has accomplished something that once seemed impossible."
In September 2001, visible smoke from the Pentagon and sweeping patriotism produced widespread fear, vengeance, and Islamophobia. The Patriot Act empowered surveillance and raids targeting Muslims, and public hostility led to assaults on people perceived as Muslim. Socialist identity was stigmatized and solidarity was treated as disloyalty. Over time political possibilities shifted, culminating in Zohran Mamdani's election as New York City mayor. Mamdani ran openly as a Muslim and a socialist, expressed support for Palestine, and identified the mega-rich as barriers to justice. His victory energized working people and suggested new political openings for marginalized communities.
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