Zohran Mamdani / nyc.gov

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani on July 3 said that patriotism requires confronting America's shortcomings while reaffirming its founding ideals in an address marking the nation's 250th anniversary of independence.

"There are some who respond to those who ask for more from America with a simple refrain: 'Love it or leave it,'" Mamdani said. 

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"But patriotism has never been about pretending our nation is without flaws. Patriotism is every act of righteous dissent, it is every march led under the heavy sun, it is every protest held a decade before its time. It is precisely because we love this nation that we will not leave it,” he added.

Speaking from City Hall alongside newly naturalized U.S. citizens on the eve of Independence Day, Mamdani described the nation's 250th birthday as "a rare opportunity" for Americans to reflect on who they are as a people and recommit themselves to the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. 

He framed New York City as a place that has long reflected both the aspirations and contradictions of the American experience.

Opening his remarks with a journey through New York Harbor's history, Mamdani traced the city's evolution from the homeland of the Lenape people through European exploration, slavery, industrialization and successive waves of immigration. 

He said generations of newcomers arrived in the city seeking freedom and opportunity while confronting discrimination and hardship, making New York a living representation of America's promise and its imperfections.

Throughout the address, Mamdani repeatedly asked, "When we look at America, what do we see?" using the question to contrast the nation's historic achievements with its enduring inequalities. 

While acknowledging economic disparities, political division and challenges facing immigrants, he said America is equally reflected in acts of compassion, civic participation and ordinary people working to improve their communities.

New York's role in America's founding

Mamdani devoted much of his address to New York City's place in the Revolutionary War, recounting the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776, when George Washington's outnumbered Continental Army narrowly escaped defeat by crossing the East River under cover of darkness after being overwhelmed by British forces.

"Independence may have been declared in Philadelphia, but it was rescued in New York City," Mamdani said, describing Washington's retreat as a pivotal moment that allowed the Continental Army to survive and continue the fight for independence.

The mayor also recounted how the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in New York City on July 9, 1776, just days after it was adopted, before residents gathered to pull down the statue of King George III at Bowling Green, later melting it into bullets for the Continental Army.

"Those ideals upon which our nation was built–they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them," he said. "Ours is a nation working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived."

Immigration and democracy 

Immigration formed the central theme of Mamdani's address as he recounted the stories of communities that helped build New York City over nearly two and a half centuries.

He highlighted the establishment of Weeksville by James Weeks, a formerly enslaved Black man who founded one of the nation's earliest free Black communities, before recounting later arrivals of Irish immigrants fleeing famine, Chinese sailors, Jewish refugees escaping persecution, Italians leaving poverty, Syrians seeking economic opportunity and later generations from Puerto Rico, the West Indies, South Asia and West Africa. Despite facing discrimination, exclusion and economic hardship, he said each group helped shape the city's identity.

Reflecting on his own journey, Mamdani said his family arrived in New York when he was seven years old and that he later became an American citizen.

"The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here, nothing is fixed into place," he said. "The work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence–that work endures, my friends, and it belongs to us all."

Addressing the newly naturalized Americans standing beside him, Mamdani said they now shared the responsibility of defining the country's future.

"You each hold a special power," he said. "The power to determine what America means."

The mayor also criticized widening economic inequality, concentrated wealth, corporate monopolies, housing conditions, healthcare costs and immigration enforcement, saying the country's ideals are reflected when neighbors support one another, citizens vote and working people seek greater opportunity for everyone.

He argued that some political leaders attempt to gain power by dividing Americans and portraying immigrants as threats rather than contributors to the nation. 

Quoting revolutionary-era writer Thomas Paine, who described America as "the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty," Mamdani said the country should continue striving to uphold that vision for future generations.

Contrasting exclusion with civic solidarity, Mamdani said America can also be seen in nurses caring for neighbors after long shifts, parents working to provide better lives for their children, communities standing together regardless of immigration status and citizens participating in elections despite difficult circumstances. He said such acts demonstrate that democracy is sustained not only by institutions but also by everyday civic responsibility.

Concluding the address, Mamdani urged Americans to continue working toward the ideals set out in the Declaration of Independence, saying the nation's promise depends on every generation renewing its commitment to democracy, equality and opportunity.

"What a privilege each of us has, to live in a nation that every one of its inhabitants can shape," he said. "What a responsibility each of us possesses, to prove ourselves worthy of all those who came before. What power each of us holds, to bring America ever-closer to the greatness so many have seen when they looked upon these shores–the greatness that, for 250 years, has been America."

Mamdani ended the address by wishing Americans a happy Fourth of July, saying, "God Bless America, God Bless New York City, and happy Fourth of July."

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