Jamaal Bowman-- The Bronx Could Wind Up With The Most Great Members Of Congress Anywhere In America

The district just north of AOC's-- NY-16-- is solidly blue with a PVI of D+24. Trump only managed to attract 22.5% of the voters. And yet, the district's Rep. is a long-in-the-tooth fossil who does far more for the Likud Party in Israel than for the people in the Bronx and Westchester. Eliot Engel is a New Dem in a district that is far more progressive than he is. And this cycle he has drawn one of the highest calibre primary opponents anywhere in the country-- Jamaal Bowman, who has just been endorsed by Blue America.

When Jamaal, a middle school principal in the Bronx, declared his candidacy in June, Emily Cochrane reported for the NY Times that "the contest could serve as a key test of whether liberal insurgent groups can convert a surge of energy on the left into successful challenges of members of the Democratic Party establishment." But Jamaal is a real candidate, not someone's idea of a test case. A local education-oriented website, Chalkbeat, wrote that he's "counting, in part, on his 20 years of experience in education to appeal to voters. Long before throwing his hat in the political rink, Bowman started the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, or CASA, a middle school that has produced notable academic results despite serving mostly disadvantaged students. He has been a vocal supporter of the opt-out movement boycotting state testing, especially within the black community. Bowman has also pushed for discipline reform, favoring restorative practices such as mediation in his school, rather than suspensions, which are disproportionately meted out, city data shows, to students of color. He’s also a big believer in the importance high-quality, early childhood care and education. A favorite word of Bowman is ‘holistic’-- an approach he likes to see in schools and one he’d like to see in government.'What I wish Congress would do more of is take a holistic view of policy overall,' he said."

While we were getting to know Jamaal during the Blue America endorsement process, I asked him to introduce himself to DWT readers with more about what he hopes to accomplish in Congress. Please take the time to read it (below) and consider chipping in to his campaign if you think Congress can use a man like this. You can contribute by clicking on the 2020 congressional primary thermometer above. At a time when congressional Republicans are seriously discussing cutting $5 billion out of the health and education budget to fund Trump's preposterous monument to his own racism and xenophobia, the response from Democratic voters in NY-16 should be loud and clear: Jamaal Bowman.

While America Boasts Being The Richest And Most Powerful Country In The World...
by Jamaal Bowman

During the 2017-2018 school year, thirty-four children attending Bronx public schools passed away. Seventeen of the deaths were attributed to suicide. One child, fearing that her mom was going to be deported, committed suicide because she couldn’t bear the burden of losing her mother. At the start of the year, less than a mile away from my school, two children were stabbed to death. One murder occurred inside of a classroom, the most sacred place in a school. The second murder occurred during an outdoor lunch break after a conflict started within the school. A third child after being a victim of a reported sexual assault, rushed home after school, took the elevator to the top floor of her building, and jumped off the roof.

A few of these stories made one or two new cycles. Not one elected official made a public statement about a crisis involving our children. And after a few days, it was business as usual in our public schools. While these tragedies will impact the families forever, the memory of these events are too swiftly removed from the American consciousness.

The horrific incidents described above do not illustrate a problem within our public schools. Rather, they are indicative of a country at war with itself. The most vulnerable among us are being crushed by crippling racism, sexism, and inequality. We cannot have business as usual when our children are killing themselves and each other. This situation is unacceptable and untenable, and an urgent response is needed.

I am running for Congress because while America boasts being the richest and most powerful country in the world, millions of children and families continue to suffer. It is way past time for our representatives in Washington, to put children, families, the elderly, and the poor at the top of the political agenda. For too long we have allowed corporate greed to dictate our federal policy at the expense of the majority of Americans. Policies like Citizens United, the repeal of Glass-Steagall, and tax breaks for fossil fuel and pharmaceutical companies among others, are literally killing the American people. We are complicit in allowing the financially wealthy to wield incredible power and influence throughout the political arena. This has to stop now!

In order to stop the continued economic and psychological oppression of the masses. We, as Americans, have to reckon with our history and build a new nation that works for all of us.

I have had the privilege of being an educator for the past twenty years. I started my career as an elementary teacher in the south bronx for five years. I went on to become a guidance counselor at high school for three years. After one year of administrative training, I became the founding principal of Cornerstone Academy for Social Action middle school. We educators experience the injustice that our children have to live with on a daily basis. Our students live in communities that have been starved of resources. There are not enough parks, museums, and libraries for cultural enrichment. Many of our kids live in food deserts, where it is impossible to find organic healthy food options. There’s little wonder why the obesity epidemic disproportionately impacts poor communities of color. Combined with a housing and environmental crisis, and aggressive police tactics, and our children are living with Ongoing Traumatic Stress Disorder (OTSD).

Over the last 30 years my district has been represented by Eliot Engel. Congressman Engel is a corporate democrat who has said that those on the left are “not his cup of tea.” His record proves this point. The majority of his fundraising comes from super PACs representing the real estate, pharmaceutical, and military industries. He supported the war in Iraq, opposed the Iran deal, loosened regulations on Wall Street, and voted for the 1994 crime bill. While Issues of poverty, housing, and addiction continue to cripple his district, congressman Engel supports policies that neglect the majority of his constituents. It should not be a surprise to learn that only 9% of the electorate voted in the 2018 primary, and why the majority of people we speak to in the district  either do not know who congressman Engel is, or do not ever see him.

During my opponent’s tenure, mass incarceration has dramatically increased, public housing has experienced a 30 billion dollar shortfall, teachers unions are under attack, public schools are chronically underfunded, and strategically being replaced by charter schools, and jobs and career development opportunities are scarce. Finally, over the last 30 years real wages have been stagnant, while child care, health care, housing and education costs have skyrocketed.

My opponent’s record directly coincides with these atrocities. He, and many others in Washington, are accountable for these dismal results.

It’s time for new leadership and a new vision for the district. A leader that will fight to build new public housing that is dignified, clean, well maintained and safe. This new public housing will be powered by green technology, have open green spaces for community events and sports, parks to play in and community centers for collective learning, organizing, and development. This new public housing will be forever rent stabilized and will provide community land trusts options that allow for each tenant to own a small stake in the residential and commercial real estate that is part of the land trust. Our new green public housing will be a major component of a Green New Deal.

Another pillar of this new vision is tripling the federal investment of public education and building and creating new community schools. Our community schools will have healthcare and education working together to provide holistic support to children and families. From pre-natal care through college, medical professionals and educators will work collaboratively  to decrease toxic stress and chronic trauma on families, while building resilient, innovative communities of joy. As we fight for Medicare for All, we will ensure that all Americans, including the most vulnerable, have their healthcare needs taken care of at the point of delivery including care for our elderly, as well as mental health and dental services.

Further, our vision for criminal justice reform includes ensuring that job readiness, career opportunities, and safe places for children to play and learn are a priority in our neighborhoods. Most of the people incarcerated struggled in school, and come from communities with a dearth of resources. We will invest in giving our children and young adults opportunities to thrive. So that the historical neglect of our government does not continue to plague them.

The recruiting and training of cultural responsive peace officers are another component of our criminal justice reform mission. These peace officers will be of and from the community and will specialize in de-escalation, trauma-informed counseling and community policing. They will also be trained in culturally responsive practices that work collaboratively with community residents to dismantle systems of oppression while empowering residents to have the most meaningful voice in community based decisions.

Another key component of our vision for  criminal justice reform involves the legalization of marijuana. We must release and expunge the records of those with marijuana convictions and use the tax revenue generated from marijuana to reinvest in communities that have been most harmed by the so-called war on drugs. Let us rebuild what has been destroyed by marijuana injustice and fight to keep other illegal drugs and guns from entering the community in the first place.

Finally, our criminal justice reform vision includes closing private prisons, ending cash bail, banning the box, ending solitary confinement and dramatically increasing education programs in our jails.

Throughout my career, I have worked with parents and community based organizations to deconstruct education policies and practices rooted in racism and classism. We have organized around the unscientific practices of using corporate standardized tests in the evaluation of teacher effectiveness, and won an important victory of a moratorium on connecting teacher performance to student test scores. We have also fought for increase public education funding that led to record increases in historically neglected communities. We have made great progress related to education funding, but there is a lot more to do. We have also fought to ensure that our schools hire more teachers of color and become more culturally responsive overall, which led to the New York City Department of Education adopting historic culturally responsive measures in our schools. As the congressional representative for New York’s 16th district, I will continue to fight against oppression and discrimination in all its forms, starting with getting big money out of policitics and reinvesting our wealth in the needs of the majority of American people,

It’s time to vote out Democrats who are compromised by corporate greed and special interests and replace them with true democrats who are accountable to the people. We have seen the dangers of this compromise. We now have a  demagogue occupying the White House and a rise in hate across the globe. I do not and will never take a single cent from corporate PACs. If I am fortunate enough to be elected my job will be to work for and with the American people over the needs of the wealthy few. I am excited to be part of the true blue progressive movement that is happening in our country. I look forward to the privilege of continuing to do my part.