‘The function of racism is distraction’: Zohran Mamdani quotes Toni Morrison in calling out critics’ bigotry

The New York City mayoral candidate has faced Islamophobic attacks from all sides of the aisle.

In the final stretch before Election Day, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is calling out the “bigotry” of his critics, who have made several Islamophobic comments about him and his campaign.

Mamdani, who could become the first Muslim elected mayor of New York City on Nov. 4, quoted Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison in denouncing the rhetoric in today’s political environment.

“I think often about Toni Morrison, you know, she said that, ‘The function of racism is distraction.’ And I think that that is true,” the Democratic New York state assemblyman recently told MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin.

“So much of the unabashed bigotry we’ve seen in the last few days, whether from Curtis Sliwa, Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, is a reflection of their own recognition that they do not have a plan to make the most expensive city in America affordable or that their plan is in fact to make it more expensive.”

Over the course of the New York City mayoral race and Mamdani’s ascent to the top of the race, Mamdani has been attacked as a “communist” and “Marxist,” among other remarks that have been slammed as racist and, specifically, Islamophobic.

Mamdani’s biggest opponent in the race, Independent candidate and former New York City Gov. Andrew Cuomo, laughed at a joke about Mamdani “cheering” on the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, saying, “That’s another problem.”

Cuomo’s campaign also posted and deleted an AI-generated video of Mamdani eating with his hands, which is a common practice among South Asian communities. Mamdani is of Indian descent, was born in Uganda, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. The controversial video, titled “Criminals for Zohran Mamdani,” also depicted a Black man shoplifting while wearing a kaffiyeh, which has become a symbol of resistance and support for Palestinians.

On Friday, Mamdani delivered an emotional speech about the “racist, baseless” Islamophobic attacks he has received in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

He explained to MSNBC, “I took a step back and listened to what was being said, outside of the question of electoral politics, outside of the question of the election, but just to the fact that [a] major candidate for mayor in the Republican Party is slandering me as the first Muslim candidate on the verge of becoming the mayor of the city as someone who supported global jihad.”

Mamdani continued, “When I listened to the current mayor of this city explaining his decision to endorse Andrew Cuomo as a decision to ensure that New York City [Eric Adams] does not become Europe, that we do not leave it to violent extremists who burn churches in Nigeria…when I listen to all of this and then turn on TV and see ads that have the words of terrorism and jihad on top of my face, that not only mock the way that I eat, but are all intended to terrify New Yorkers as to the prospect of having a Muslim mayor.”

The mayoral candidate said that, ultimately, it became too much for him to witness and not speak out.

“It was too much to think of these as the acts of desperate men looking to salvage the little power that they still had. It was, in fact, a reflection of Islamophobia within our political system that has become so endemic that when we hear it, we do not know from which party it comes.”

He added, “We just know that it is a fact of life in our city’s politics.”