Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2026
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Political Science
Advisor
Zachariah Mampilly
Subject Categories
American Politics | Comparative Politics | Political Theory
Keywords
social movement, activism, political participation, non-electoral, representation
Abstract
The summer of 2025 saw a groundswell of South Asian American organizing and canvassing to get now-Mayor Mamdani to Gracie Mansion. Despite the success, my interviews with organizers found that South Asian American activists are struggling to find an organization to make their political home, which I define as a place where their racial, ethnic, and political identities are all represented. The thesis builds on the perennial question about the place race has in revolutionary politics.
One place participants try to make a home is in panethnic South Asian American political organizations that nominally build political power and representation for the whole community. But, participants report that working-class and leftist members, identities that often correlate with being Bengali and Muslim, are pushed out over their support of Palestine, thereby showing an uncritical examination of imperialism as Vijay Prashad critiqued a decade ago. The other place participants organize in are majority-white leftist spaces, that have negative reputations amongst leftists of color, or majority-white Democratic institutions. To find a home, participants either increase the minority representation in the majority-white organization or purposefully choose not to have one political home by working at multiple organizations or alone.
This thesis is based on six open-ended interviews conducted in the spring and summer of 2026. Interview questions revolved around the participants’ personal political biography, and their political and racial identity (See Appendix A). Given the persecution of activists by the current Federal government, security and confidentiality protocols were created in collaboration with participants to ensure security and comfort. This thesis also draws on social media posts, and ethnography conducted at political organizations’ meetings and group chats.
Recommended Citation
John, Ann, "Political Homes: Universal and Parochial Identities Amongst South Asian American Organizers in New York City" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6849
