Several weeks ago, I attended an interfaith gathering where people discussed priorities for a potential Mamdani administration. I was surprised how quickly the conversation veered to an exclusive focus on how to ensure racial ethnic representation in his government, which racial and ethnic groups would get what positions.
Old grievances surfaced: Some Black leaders were concerned that there had not been sufficient Black positions in the past, the same was expressed about Latino representation. I found the conversation unsettling and misplaced. Amid such widespread suffering, faith communities’ priority should be policies and priorities that uplift the poor and most vulnerable, not parsing government positions’ racial/ethnic distribution.
In a city like New York, it is almost a given that any mayoral administration will be racially and ethnically diverse. Not that diligence isn’t required, but given the current city leadership, a diverse administration is the natural result when we elevate the best candidate for each role. Moreover, administrative personnel’s ethnicity and race do not guarantee that they support integrity in government, nor that they will address the poorest and most vulnerable residents’ needs.
In the Adams administration, leaders from communities of need repeatedly prioritized personal gain over policies that would support those communities’ thriving. We have witnessed many of these leaders handcuffed after corruption indictments or resign under clouds of credible allegations.
As faith leaders, our traditions place far greater emphasis on just policy than on the skin color of people who would enact it. All the world’s major religions name an obligation to prioritize the needs of the poor. Buddhism emphasizes “Dana or almsgiving;” Hinduism “seva-service;” Judaism “Tzedakah”—charitable justice; Christianity — caring for the least of these; Islam “Zakat”— compulsory sharing of wealth. This is where faith leaders should start conversation about what we want from a new administration.
High on the list of vulnerable people in NYC are unhoused folks who live with mental illness. I recently walked from 120th and Broadway to Columbus Circle and saw at least 26 people who appeared to be unhoused, bearing symptoms of mental illness. They lay in heaps of rags and debris on the sidewalks, walked in circles disheveled and smelly while talking to themselves, or yelled at passersby while rocking back and forth uncontrollably. The staggering lack of government care for their needs indicts our city. Any mayoral administration that doesn’t focus intently on the wellbeing of these siblings created in God’s image directly contradicts our diverse faith traditions’ fundamental demands.
Of equal importance for faith leaders must be our children and youth. Families across the city desperately need access to decent and affordable housing. It is a crime that shelter has become a luxury commodity, that we accept it as a given people will be priced out, forced out, or made to double and triple up to have a roof over their heads. It’s an abomination, especially as children and youth suffer most. Our young people also deserve a decent education, one that should start at age three, which is why universal 3-K and pre-K are so important.
Another priority for the poor and vulnerable is quality schools with quality teachers who are paid fair and decent wages, while being held accountable for results. We also need quality facilities; we cannot acquiesce to school disrepair as yet another horrible reality we come to accept as normal. This must stop. In addition, out of school time for children and youth must be high on faith leaders’ agenda. Quality constructive out of school time not only enhances learning, it keeps children and youth out of the criminal justice system. Any good precinct captain will tell you; constructive engagement of the young is fundamental to preventing crime. These positive options both keep young people out of harm’s way and prevent them from creating harm.
The tatters left after decades of well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided democratic governance stand as a dire warning against following politics as usual. Identity politics simply cannot prevent the exploitation of labor and increase all people’s opportunity to live a decent life.
The old paradigm that divides the spoils of victory to benefit the few of any racial/ethnic group must give way to championing the needs of the “least, lost, and left behind.” This is our first obligation as faith leaders. Let us not succumb to those well-worn ruts that lead to ruin. A greater burden has been placed upon us: we are commanded by our faith and spiritual traditions to speak truth to power alongside the powerless. Anything less misses the mark of that higher calling.
Frederick Davie served as chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, from December 2017 until January 2022. He is currently senior vice president at Union Theological Seminary. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer. The Urban Agenda is available on CSS’s website: www.cssny.org