31 Facts About Jamaal Bowman

Jamaal Anthony Bowman was born on April 1,1976 and is an American politician and educator serving as the US representative for since 2021.

Jamaal Bowman is the founder and former principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, a public middle school in Eastchester, Bronx.

Jamaal Bowman is a member of the Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Jamaal Bowman defeated 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Jamaal Bowman is a member of the Squad, a faction of progressive House Democrats.

Jamaal Bowman was born in Manhattan, a borough of New York City.

Jamaal Bowman lived with his grandmother in the East River Houses in East Harlem during the week and with his mother and sisters in Yorkville on weekends.

Jamaal Bowman's grandmother died when he was eight years old.

Jamaal Bowman attended Sayreville War Memorial High School, where he played on the football team.

Jamaal Bowman briefly attended Potomac State Junior College before earning a Bachelor of Arts in sports management from the University of New Haven in 1999.

Jamaal Bowman played college football for the New Haven Chargers.

Jamaal Bowman later earned a Master of Arts in counseling from Mercy College and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Manhattanville College.

Jamaal Bowman has written about high-stakes testing's role in perpetuating inequalities, including the turnover, tumult, and vicious cycle it creates in students' and educators' lives, as assessment performance damages a school's ability to teach and, subsequently, the quality of the education upon which the student is assessed.

Jamaal Bowman advocated for children to receive arts, history, and science education in addition to the basics of literacy and numeracy.

The Justice Democrats recruited Jamaal Bowman to run for the United States House of Representatives in, represented by 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel.

Jamaal Bowman was inspired to run by the insurgent 2018 campaign of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and described his platform as "anti-poverty and anti-racist", with support for housing, criminal justice reform, education, Medicare for All, and a Green New Deal.

Jamaal Bowman's campaign criticized Engel's record on foreign policy and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jamaal Bowman was endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the editorial board of The New York Times.

Jamaal Bowman was photographed alongside the four original Squad members and another new member, Cori Bush of Missouri's 1st congressional district.

In January 2021, following the storming of the United States Capitol, Jamaal Bowman introduced the Congressional Oversight of Unjust Policing Act to establish a commission to investigate how United States Capitol Police handled the storming of the Capitol and to look at potential ties of some of its members to white nationalism.

On November 5,2021, Jamaal Bowman was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act because it did not include the Build Back Better Act.

In September 2021, Jamaal Bowman was among 38 House Democrats to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022.

Also in September 2021, Jamaal Bowman voted in favor of providing Israel with an additional $1 billion in aid to fund its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Jamaal Bowman's vote was controversial among members of the Democratic Socialists of America, and sparked debate within the DSA about whether it should ensure its members support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel.

Jamaal Bowman was among 51 House Democrats to vote against the final passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

In July 2022, Jamaal Bowman was one of 77 House Democrats to vote for an amendment that would have cut the proposed defense budget by $100 billion.

Jamaal Bowman's wife was upset about his decision to run for office for "the first eleven months", Bowman revealed on an episode of The Carlos Watson Show.

Jamaal Bowman is a fan of New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.

Jamaal Bowman described hip-hop as a "culture that is created by teenagers who were forgotten about, and because they were forgotten about, they were forced to come together and create something beautiful".

Jamaal Bowman drew inspiration from the Wu-Tang Clan during his underdog campaign, and has frequently been seen in a Wu-Tang Clan emblazoned face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic, which GQ noted allowed Jamaal Bowman to send voters a message.

In February 2021, Jamaal Bowman's mother died of complications related to COVID-19.