What does a childless organizer know about childcare? New York Communities for Change’s (NYCC) James Inniss asked himself the question on the uncharacteristically warm evening of Oct. 23, 2024. He faced the unenviable task of stepping in at the last minute for a colleague slated to open for a relatively unknown assemblymember’s long-shot mayoral campaign launch, thanks to the MTA’s delays. Ironic, given the speaker before him talked about fixing public transit.
While Inniss lacked parenting experience, he could talk all about what affordability meant for Black New Yorkers. So he took the stage — or more accurately, stood under a humble pergola — and went off the cuff. Thankfully, the absence of TV cameras and elected officials relieved some pressure. And there were friendly faces around: other NYCC peers, and members of Asian American organizations DRUM Beats and CAAAV Voice. All packed into a small outdoor space hosted by Queens nonprofit the Connected Chef.
He addressed why a public safety organizer was speaking about childcare and mentioned how he was a product of the New York City public school system. When people cheered, Inniss chided them. “That’s something normal,” he said. “Everybody should do that. That is not an accomplishment.” Laughter ensued. But he really got the crowd excited when explained why he and NYCC were offering their endorsement.
“The cost of childcare in New York City is insane,” said Inniss during the event. “The cost of everything in New York City is insane. But if a person who’s struggling to make ends meet has to also pay more than their car note to make sure their kids are being educated and being safe after school, that’s a public safety issue…it’s particularly Black and Brown New Yorkers who are being affected by this.”
Ten minutes later, then-assemblymember Zohran Mamdani came out to announce his run for New York City mayor.
Emerging into the spotlight
Inniss boasts his own remarkable come-up as NYCC’s current interim political director. He hails from the North Bronx but comes from a long line of Harlemites dating back to the early 1900s. His formative years played a big role in unofficially laying the groundwork for his organizing ways, pointing to events thrown by the neighborhood’s “oldheads” back in the day. While he was never a parent, Inniss, 44, knows all about bringing up the next generation.
“Generationally, I was raised by OGs; I have younger people who I’m raising so to speak,” said Inniss. “That’s how communities are built, and that’s how mine was built. The Bronx isn’t the most organized place in the world coalition-wise, but we all know our neighbors. We know each other.
“We might not be organized in the regular sense of the word, but we are community-based. We all are throwing community basketball tournaments and taking care of each other during Thanksgiving and back-to-school holidays.”
Yet he did not professionally organize until the COVID-19 pandemic struck. He witnessed people in his building struggling to get resources like food. So Inniss got involved through the Democratic Socialists of America. Back then, Inniss still worked at FedEx. He would come home from shifts to hop on DSA calls, which he credits for a “doctorate in organizing.”
In 2022, Inniss landed a paid gig at NYCC as a public safety campaigner. He did not come in with a policy background on criminal justice reform. His job training kicked off with running to Strand Books and reading Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” and Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s “Golden Gulag.” He sat in on NYU Law meetings and listened. “Everybody can do what I do,” said Inniss. “I didn’t get a degree to do this. I just decided to do it and try. And I put the work in.”
As he learned on the go, Inniss grew his reputation in the criminal justice reform world. He played key roles in crafting and promoting bills to decarcerate and bolster the rights of incarcerated individuals. Currently, Inniss is focused on sentencing reform like the Earned Time and Second Look Acts.
Today, Inniss’s work also includes managing NYCC’s newfound respect as one of three organizations to initially endorse Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The nonprofit stems from New York City members from Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a substantial international grassroots group that played a direct hand in forming the Working Families Party but disbanded in the 2000s after right-wing attacks.
While Inniss knew Mamdani, NYCC already pledged its endorsement months prior after the democratic socialist lawmaker pitched himself to members including Political Director Alicé Nascimento. The administration recently reached its 100th day and a recent Marist favorability poll found stronger approval rates among Black New Yorkers surveyed. Mamdani expressed gratitude for Inniss’s advocacy and maintained his affordability agenda would platform Black residents.
“I’m grateful to [Inniss] and to the organizers at New York Communities for Change, who continue to remind us that Black New Yorkers have long carried the heaviest weight of New York City’s affordability crisis,” said Mamdani. “If we are serious about solving that crisis, we must dismantle the systemic inequities that created it. That means expanding 2-K, and investing in early childhood educators and caregivers in Canarsie and Brownsville, building truly affordable housing in East Harlem, and investing millions to rebuild parks in neighborhoods that have been historically neglected.”
As for Inniss, the moment of speaking during Mamdani’s campaign launch is not lost on him. “I wish we took more pictures, more photos,” he said. “I wish we documented it a lot more. Because now, in hindsight, that was a really big day.”