Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor has a group of Pakistani American aunties and uncles so excited that they are wondering if they should have given their own children more freedom in choosing their careers. “What if we let our kids become politicians, and not just doctors and engineers?” a member of the grassroots political organizing group, Drum Beats, asked at a small celebration held at an Islamic school last month in south Brooklyn.
Drum Beats, which represents New York City’s working-class south Asian and Indo-Caribbean populations, was one of the first grassroots groups to endorse Mamdani, when he launched his campaign in October – long before he became a household name. More than 300 volunteers, who spoke near a dozen languages, knocked on at least 10,000 doors to support him. Drum Beats says these efforts helped increase turnout by almost 90% among Indo-Caribbean and South Asian voters in some neighborhoods.
