New York City's new administration, led by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is facing its first significant controversy. It centres on the social media history of a key appointee, which has been brought to light by political opponents.
Controversial Posts Surface
Afua Atta-Mensah, appointed as the city's chief equity officer, reportedly deactivated her personal X account within a week of her appointment. This move came after the New York Young Republicans Club captured screenshots of posts from 2020 and 2021 that contained inflammatory remarks about white people.
The now-deleted account reportedly featured posts disparaging liberal white women. In one instance, she agreed with a user stating "we don't talk about white liberal racism enough," replying: "Facts! It would need to be a series of loooooonnnnnnnggggg conversations." Other reposts from 2024 labelled "white women at nonprofit organisations" as people who "feel like police," and drew comparisons to Amy Cooper, the "Central Park Karen."
Atta-Mensah also enthusiastically engaged with content about Black liberation, replying to one statement with: "This is a whole word! I will add their is nothing nice about change and transformation from power over to powe [sic] with." In a separate exchange about the television series Succession, she responded with clapping emojis to a comment about wanting to "tax these people to the white meat."
Administration's Response and Wider Context
Mayor Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor who vowed to govern as a 'democratic socialist,' defended the hire. In a press release, he stated: "Afua Atta-Mensah has dedicated her career to serving the New Yorkers who are so often forgotten in the halls of power. There is no one I trust more to advance racial equity across our work in City Hall."
Her role will involve overseeing the administration's racial-equity agenda from the new Mayor's Office of Equity & Racial Justice, including delivering a Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan within Mamdani's first 100 days.
The mayor's office has insisted it gave no directive for appointees to delete prior social media activity. However, Stefano Forte, president of the New York Young Republicans Club, accused the administration of trying to quietly manage Atta-Mensah's online history. "Zohran's team tried to be more careful after the Cea Weaver disaster, but we caught Atta-Mensah before she could scrub her digital footprint," he said, adding, "Anti-white racism is a feature, not a fringe problem, of Mamdani's inner circle."
A Pattern of Scrutiny for Appointees
This incident follows similar scrutiny of another Mamdani appointee, Cea Weaver. The 37-year-old tenant advocate and member of the Democratic Socialists of America was appointed director of the Office to Protect Tenants on the mayor's first day. Controversial posts from her now-deleted X account, dating from 2017 to 2019, were subsequently resurfaced.
These posts included claims that homeownership was "a weapon of white supremacy," that police are "people the state sanctions to murder with immunity," and urged followers to "elect more communists." She also called to "impoverish the white middle class" and backed a platform banning white men and reality-TV stars from running for office.
Mamdani, who called Weaver a "friend," appointed her to lead the revitalised Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, praising her as a "powerhouse for tenants' rights."
The emerging pattern has placed Mayor Mamdani's early appointments under a harsh spotlight. As his administration seeks to implement a progressive platform including free buses, free childcare, and higher corporate taxes, it must now navigate the political fallout from the past online statements of its senior officials. The controversy underscores the intense digital scrutiny faced by public figures and the challenges of transitioning from activist rhetoric to governmental responsibility.
