Jamaal Bowman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jamaal Bowman
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th district |
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| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Eliot Engel |
| Succeeded by | George Latimer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1, 1976 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Melissa Oppenheimer |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Potomac State College University of New Haven (BA) Mercy College (MA) Manhattanville College (EdD) |
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and former teacher. From 2021 to 2025, he served as a representative for New York's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
Before becoming a politician, Bowman started and led a public middle school called Cornerstone Academy for Social Action in Eastchester, Bronx. In 2020, he won the Democratic primary election against Eliot Engel, who had been in Congress for a long time. Bowman was then elected to Congress in November of that year.
He was part of "the Squad", a group of progressive members in the House of Representatives. In 2023, he was involved in an incident where a fire alarm was pulled in a government building. This led to him being officially criticized by the House of Representatives. In 2024, Bowman ran for reelection but lost to George Latimer in the Democratic primary.
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Early Life and Education
Jamaal Bowman was born in Manhattan, a part of New York City. When he was young, he lived with his grandmother in East Harlem during the week. On weekends, he stayed with his mother and sisters in Yorkville.
After his grandmother passed away when he was eight, he lived full-time on the Upper East Side. At age 16, he moved with his family to Sayreville, New Jersey. He went to Sayreville War Memorial High School and played on the football team there.
Bowman first attended Potomac State Junior College. Later, he earned a bachelor's degree in sports management from the University of New Haven in 1999. While there, he played college football as a linebacker. He then earned a master's degree in counseling from Mercy College. He also received a doctorate in educational leadership from Manhattanville College.
Teaching Career
After college, Bowman decided not to work in sports management. A family friend suggested he become a teacher. His first job was helping students with difficult situations in a South Bronx elementary school.
In 2009, Bowman started his own school, Cornerstone Academy for Social Action. It was a public middle school in the Bronx. As the principal, he created a "wall of honor" to celebrate important Black, Latino, and Asian people.
Bowman strongly spoke out against standardized testing. He believed it caused problems for students and teachers. He wrote that these tests could make inequalities worse and hurt a school's ability to teach.
He also believed that children should learn about arts, history, and science, not just reading and math. His school used a "restorative justice" approach to help students. This method focuses on solving problems and preventing students from getting into trouble. After 10 years as principal, he left to focus on his campaign for Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
Running for Congress in 2020
The group Justice Democrats encouraged Bowman to run for the United States House of Representatives. He ran in New York's 16th congressional district, which had been represented by Eliot Engel for 16 terms. Bowman was inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign in 2018.
His campaign focused on fighting poverty and racism. He supported ideas like affordable housing, changes to the justice system, better education, universal healthcare, and a plan for a cleaner environment called the Green New Deal. In this district, many more people were registered as Democrats than Republicans. This meant that whoever won the Democratic primary would likely win the main election.
Bowman's campaign criticized Engel's past decisions and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bowman received support from groups like the Sunrise Movement and the New York Working Families Party. He was also endorsed by other well-known politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. Even The New York Times newspaper supported him.
On July 17, 2020, Bowman won the primary election with 55% of the votes. In the general election, he won against Patrick McManus with 84% of the votes.
Reelection in 2022
In 2022, Bowman faced a challenge in the Democratic primary from Vedat Gashi. Gashi was supported by Eliot Engel, Bowman's former opponent. Bowman won the primary election with 54% of the votes. He then won the general election with 64% of the votes.
2024 Election Challenge
Bowman often spoke about U.S. support for Israel during the Gaza-Israel conflict. Because of this, he was challenged by George Latimer, a county executive from Westchester. This election became a big example of the different views within the Democratic Party about the Israel-Hamas war.
This primary election was the most expensive for the House of Representatives in U.S. history. About $15 million was spent by outside groups to help Latimer's campaign. Much of this money came from groups that support Israel. Latimer defeated Bowman with 58.59% of the votes compared to Bowman's 41.41%.
Time in Congress
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When Jamaal Bowman started his term, he joined "The Squad". This group is known for its progressive political views.
In January 2021, after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Bowman introduced a bill called the COUP Act. This bill aimed to create a group to investigate how the United States Capitol Police handled the attack. It also looked into possible connections some police members had to white nationalist groups. Bowman said this bill was important because of the different ways police responded to the attack compared to how they treated other groups, like Black Lives Matter protesters.
In November 2021, Bowman was one of six Democrats who voted against a bill about improving roads and bridges. He did this because the bill did not include another important plan called the Build Back Better Act. He also voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
Fire Alarm Incident and Official Criticism
On September 30, 2023, while members of the House were trying to delay a vote, Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building. This caused the building to be evacuated for about an hour and a half. Bowman first said he pulled the alarm by accident, thinking it would open a door.
Later, he accepted a deal where he paid a fine and wrote an apology letter to the police. In return, the charges against him were dropped after three months. On December 7, 2023, the House of Representatives voted to officially criticize Bowman for the incident. This means the House formally disapproved of his actions.
Views on Foreign Policy
In September 2021, Bowman voted to give Israel an extra $1 billion to help fund its missile defense system called Iron Dome. This vote caused some discussion among members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). A spokesperson confirmed that Bowman's DSA membership ended in 2022 after this vote. However, in May 2024, Bowman rejoined the group.
Bowman was one of 51 House Democrats who voted against the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. He explained that Congress quickly approves money for weapons but doesn't do enough for veterans or job programs in areas like his.
In July 2023, Bowman and eight other progressive Democrats voted against a resolution that supported Israel. This resolution stated that "the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state" and that the U.S. would always support Israel.
On October 25, Bowman and eight other progressive Democrats also voted against a resolution supporting Israel after the October 7 Hamas-led attack. A group called J Street, which supports Israel, later withdrew its endorsement of Bowman in January 2024. They said his response to the Hamas attack "went too far."
Committee Work
In Congress, Jamaal Bowman was part of several important committees:
- Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
- Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy (as the Ranking Member, meaning the top member of the minority party)
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Groups He Joined
Bowman was also a member of these groups in Congress:
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
Personal Life
Jamaal Bowman lives in Yonkers, New York, with his wife, Melissa Oppenheimer, and their three children. He once mentioned that his wife was not happy about his decision to run for office for almost a year.
Bowman is a big fan of the New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. He said that hip-hop is a "culture that is created by teenagers who were forgotten about." He found inspiration from the Wu-Tang Clan during his campaign. He was often seen wearing a Wu-Tang Clan face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2011 to 2014, Bowman had a blog where he shared ideas about 9/11 conspiracy theories. After this was reported, he said he regretted those posts. In 2024, it was found that his personal YouTube account was subscribed to many unusual channels. Bowman said he did not know about these channels or what they contained.
Images for kids
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Bowman speaking at Messiah Baptist Church in New York.
See also
In Spanish: Jamaal Bowman para niños
- List of African-American United States representatives
- Progressivism in the United States § In the 21st century
- List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded
