Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Bowman (born April 1, 1976)[1] is an American educator and politician. He is the Democratic nominee for New York's 16th congressional district in the 2020 election.
Jamaal Bowman | |
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Personal details | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | April 1, 1976
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 3 |
Education | University of New Haven (BA) Mercy College (MA) Manhattanville College (EdD) |
Website | Campaign website |
Bowman is the founder and former principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, a public middle school in Eastchester, Bronx. Bowman is a member of the Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He defeated 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Early life and education
Bowman was born in Manhattan, New York City. He lived with his grandmother in the East River Houses in East Harlem during the week and with his mother and sisters in Yorkville, Manhattan on weekends. His grandmother died when he was eight years old.[2][3] At age 16, he moved with his family to Sayreville, New Jersey.[3] He attended Sayreville War Memorial High School, where he played on the football team.[4]
Bowman briefly attended Potomac State Junior College[5] before earning a Bachelor of Arts in sports management from the University of New Haven in 1999.[3] He played college football for the New Haven Chargers.[6] Bowman later earned a Master of Arts in counseling from Mercy College and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Manhattanville College.[7]
Career
Education
After earning his undergraduate degree, Bowman decided not to pursue a career in sports management. Upon the suggestion of a family friend who worked for the New York City Department of Education, Bowman began working as an educator. Bowman's first job was as a crisis management teacher in a South Bronx elementary school.[3] In 2009, he founded Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, a public middle school in the Bronx.[2][3]
Bowman became a leading advocate against standardized testing.[8][9] His blog on the role of standardized testing has received national attention.[8] He has written about high-stakes testing's role in perpetuating inequalities,[10] including the turnover, tumult, and vicious cycle it creates in the lives of students and educators, as assessment performance damages a school's ability to teach and, subsequently, the quality of the education upon which the student is assessed. By the mid-2010s, a quarter of Bowman's students had opted out of standardized testing. He also advocated for children to receive arts, history, and science education in addition to the basics of literacy and numeracy.[8] Bowman's school policy used a restorative justice model to address the school-to-prison pipeline. After ten years as principal, he left the job to focus on his congressional campaign.
Politics
The Justice Democrats recruited Bowman to run for the United States House of Representatives in New York's 16th congressional district, represented by 15-term incumbent Eliot Engel, in the 2020 elections.[11] Engel has served as a member of the House since 1989 and as the Chair of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs since the first session of the 116th United States Congress. Bowman was inspired to run by the insurgent 2018 campaign of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and described his platform as "anti-poverty and anti-racist" with support for housing, criminal justice reform, education, Medicare for All, and a Green New Deal.[12] No Republican even filed, meaning that whoever won the Democratic primary would be essentially assured of victory in November. Registered Democrats in the district outnumber registered Republicans by more than four to one, meaning that any hypothetical Republican challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds in any case.[13] With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+24, it is the ninth-most Democratic district covering a significant portion of New York City.
Bowman's campaign criticized Engel's record on foreign policy and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bowman's endorsements from the Sunrise Movement, and New York Working Families Party assisted with fundraising despite being well behind Engel.[14] Bowman was also endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the editorial board of The New York Times.[11][15]
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large portion of ballots were cast absentee. However, because of Bowman's 26-point lead on election night, news outlets quickly started referring to him as the presumptive Democratic nominee.[16] On July 17, 2020, based on their analysis of the absentee ballot count, the Associated Press called the primary race for Bowman. According to The New York Times, Bowman was a "prohibitive favorite" to win in November due to the 16th's heavily Democratic nature and the lack of GOP opposition.[13]
Electoral history
2020 Democratic primary
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jamaal Bowman | 43,013 | 55.5 | ||
Democratic | Eliot Engel (Incumbent) | 31,296 | 40.4 | ||
Democratic | Chris Fink | 1,523 | 2.0 | ||
Democratic | Sammy Ravelo | 1,001 | 1.3 | ||
Democratic | Andom Ghebreghiorgis (withdrawn) | 660 | 0.9 |
Personal life
Bowman lives with his wife, Melissa Oppenheimer, and their three children in Yonkers, New York.[2][18]
Bowman is a fan of New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. He described hip-hop as a "culture that is created by teenagers who were forgotten about, and because they were forgotten about, they were forced to come together and create something beautiful.”[19] Bowman drew inspiration from the Wu-Tang Clan during his underdog campaign,[20] and has frequently been seen in a Wu-Tang Clan emblazoned face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic,[20][21][22] which GQ noted allowed Bowman to express himself, as more casual branded-clothing might not convey the gravity of an aspirant Congressman and a suit with a more conventional face covering might not separate him from the incumbent.[23]
References
- Clark, Dartunorro (June 14, 2020). "'Unapologetic': This progressive NYC principal is fighting to unseat a 16-term Democrat". NBC News. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- Carp, Alex (June 17, 2020). "Jamaal Bowman Takes the Lead". New York. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- Johnson, Stephon (December 8, 2016). "Jamaal Bowman stumbled into education and doesn't regret it". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Tufaro, Greg (October 27, 1993). "Bowman practices what he preaches: Sayreville senior stars on defense". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. C2. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Sayreville stars headed to college, prep school". The Central New Jersey Home News. April 28, 1994. p. C3. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Konick Jr., Emery (July 22, 1998). "Clark anxious for gridiron return: Part of talented cast at U. of New Haven". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. B5. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Woyton, Michael (June 18, 2020). "Jamaal Bowman: Candidate For NY Congressional District 16". Bronxville-Eastchester, NY Patch. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- Tampio, Nicholas (2018). Common Core: National Education Standards and the Threat to Democracy. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 157–159. ISBN 978-1-4214-2464-4.
- deMause, Neil (March 28, 2016). "Low-Income Parents Are Caught Between the Growing Opt-Out Movement and the City's Attempts to Clamp Down on Dissent". Village Voice. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Sahlberg, Pasi; Doyle, William (2019). Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive. Oxford University Press. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-0-19-093216-9.
- McKinley, Jesse (June 17, 2020). "Top Democrats Are Trying to Stop This Man From Becoming the Next A.O.C." The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- Cochrane, Emily (June 18, 2019). "Bronx Principal to Challenge Eliot Engel, Powerful House Democrat, From the Left". The New York Times.
- McKinley, Jesse (July 17, 2020). "Jamaal Bowman, Progressive Insurgent, Defeats Eliot Engel in House Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Lacy, Akela (June 1, 2020). "In Final Stretch, Progressives Coalesce Around a Single Challenger to Rep. Eliot Engel". The Intercept. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- New York Times Editorial Board (June 12, 2020). "New York Voters Can Send Some Promising New Faces to Congress". The New York Times.
- "Jamaal Bowman: Political newcomer shakes up NY 'status quo'". BBC. June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Results: New York House District 16 primary election". The New York Times. June 23, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Maya's Marvelous Walk in the Woods". ECE PolicyWorks. September 4, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- Jada, Yuan (July 16, 2020). "How a middle school principal used the Ocasio-Cortez playbook against a 16-term incumbent". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- McGrady, Clyde (July 23, 2020). "Jamaal Bowman: 'The police literally beat the crap out of me'". Roll Call.
- Dunlea, Reed (July 2, 2020). "'The First Time' With Politician Jamaal Bowman". Rolling Stone.
- Bort, Ryan (June 24, 2020). "Jamaal Bowman Is Just the Politician This Moment Needs". Rolling Stone.
- Wolf, Cam (June 24, 2020). "Wu-Tang Clan, Washington Nationals, and Apple Emojis: Politicians Are Flexing the Mask's Power". GQ.
Further reading
- "'If You Want to Call Me a Socialist Then Call Me a Socialist'". Jacobin. October 24, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Veiga, Christina (June 18, 2019). "Jamaal Bowman, Bronx principal and vocal opt-out supporter, launches primary challenge for Congress". Chalkbeat. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- Vielkind, Jimmy (June 7, 2020). "In New York, a Fight Over the Next AOC". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
External links
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