Mamdani's Message of Unity and Hope
Kevin McKeon | New York, United States
Photographer: Kevin McKeon
Exhibit Title: Mamdani's Message of Unity and Hope
Location: New York, United States
After a year of divisive and frequently hateful rhetoric radiating from our nation’s capital, Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated as the new mayor of New York City on New Year’s Day, 2026. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers braved near-frozen fingers and toes, and blocks-long security lines, to witness the swearing in of New York’s first Muslim mayor – a Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist, the son of two parents of Indian descent. Mamdani was sworn in on his grandfather’s Quoran. While the messages throughout the ceremony were many – universal child care, better education, housing, immigration, affordability – the thread that ran through everything on that day was that we are all one people, and all a part of what makes New York City the greatest city on earth. As such, every individual deserves the same respect, dignity and protection that comes with living here. People of every age, color, religion and sexual orientation were holding hands, hugging each other, and shouting for joy. Considering what we went through in 2025, it was a great way to start 2026.
I've been following the Trump resistance since the beginning the 2025, as both participant and photojournalist. Yes, it can be emotionally exhausing. And people often ask me, are these rallies really doing any good? My answer is always the same. A lot more good that doing nothing at all. The Mamdani election is one more piece of a 1000-piece puzzle being joined together through protests, letter-writing, ICE-interference, legal challenges, social media, and local elections. The world is watching. Mamdani spoke of the possibility that New York's success could show the rest of the country that positive change is possible. One more puzzle piece in now in place. This, I believe, is how change happens.
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