The Indian American

41 THE INDIAN AMERICAN OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2018 -NEW YORK ayu Bhojwani, who served as New York City’s first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, founded South Asian Youth Action, and is the founder and president of New American Leaders, has come up with an engaging book on the struggle of new immi- grants and minorities as they navigate their way through the American process to politi- cal representation at the grassroots and state level. ‘People Like Us – The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door’ (The New Press; hardcover; 232 pages; $24.99) by Bhojwani, who has a PhD in Politics and Education from Columbia University, where her research focused on immigrant political participation, is a timely book as the midterm elections on November 6, is expected to throw up a new wave of political leaders from marginalized commu- nities, and displace long-serving incum- bents, who are mostly White and male. Bhojwani is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow at the Council of Independent Colleges. Before he debut book’s publica- tion, her 2016 TED talk ‘Immigrant Voices Make Democracy Stronger’ was viewed over 800,000 times. In “People Like Us,’ Bhojwani argues that politics is rigged: America’s political leader- ship remains overwhelmingly white, male, moneyed, and Christian. Even at the local and state levels, elected office is inaccessible to the people it aims to represent. However, a lot of change is underway, she S Immigrants vs rich, White incumbents – Sayu Bhojwani’s take on American politics By Sujeet Rajan Sayu Bhojwani Arts & Books

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