Staff Reports
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. recently lit a fuse in New York City politics when he took to X and accused the Democratic Socialists of America of a kind of “white supremacy,” writing bluntly that “White supremacy comes in all forms.” He amplified the point by reposting a famous Malcolm X line about white liberals. The jab came after a New York Times piece and a messy social‑media back‑and‑forth about whether the DSA and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s allies are actually listening to Black and Latino leaders in the city. In short: the left is feuding with itself, and conservatives should take notes.
What Donovan Richards Said — and Why It Matters
Richards didn’t whisper. His post called out what he sees as an ugly contradiction: a self‑described anti‑racist movement that nonetheless seems to leave out the very communities it claims to champion. That spurred Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest to complain that the reporting overlooked Black DSA members — a complaint that only added fuel to the argument. The result was a public argument over representation, credibility, and who gets a seat at the table in a city where racial and economic tensions are very real.
DSA’s Diversity Problem, or Just Bad PR?
Here’s the irony: the DSA’s recent wins — backed candidates now controlling key seats — have increased the group’s power in city and national politics, yet the organization’s membership reportedly skews heavily white. Surveys and polling from recent years indicate a membership that is disproportionately white and college‑educated, even as the DSA talks loudly about racial and economic justice. That gap between rhetoric and reality is not just embarrassing; it’s politically dangerous. When activists and leaders can’t show they include Black and Latino voices, their policy arguments sound hollow — and voters notice.
Mayor Mamdani, Property Taxes, and the Real Stakes
This spat isn’t academic. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early administration choices and even a proposed property‑tax increase have put him at odds with moderate Black leaders who worry about protecting homeowners and building generational wealth. Richards, who has a record of advocating for minority homeownership, sees real consequences in policy, not just talking points. The DSA’s influence — and the candidates it backs — matter because their policy priorities affect people’s wallets and their neighborhoods. That’s why this fight cuts beyond Twitter into actual governance.
Let the Democrats argue about who’s the true voice of the left. Republicans should do what we do best: watch, learn, and hold a mirror up to these contradictions. City voters deserve leaders who actually represent their communities, not ideological purity tests and performative outrage. If the DSA wants to be taken seriously as a vehicle for racial and economic justice, it should start by proving it includes the people it claims to fight for — and stop telling everyone else how to think while ignoring the voters who matter most.
