Kristin Richardson Jordan (born 1987) is an American politician who is the Councilmember for New York City's 9th City Council district. Jordan identifies as a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

and police abolitionist. In her 2021 race for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

, she campaigned on a platform of "radical love."

Early life and education

Jordan was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in 1987 to physicians Lynne D. Richardson and Desmond Jordan. Her parents were both raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, and the family returned after her father's internship at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, where she grew up. She graduated from the

Calhoun School The Calhoun School is a progressive, co-educational, independent school on New York City's Upper West Side, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Founded in 1896, the school currently has approximately 600 students, housed in two sepa ...

and then from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 2009, double-majoring in Africana studies and literary arts. Jordan is a lesbian activist.

Career

Jordan ran for

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

against incumbent Councilmember Bill Perkins, narrowly defeating him in the Democratic primary, virtually assuring her election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. A member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

, Jordan was not endorsed by that organization, as it wanted to focus support on other candidates in that year's elections. Members of her campaign have also speculated that the DSA may have been dissatisfied with her past membership in the

Party for Socialism and Liberation The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party in the United States, established in 2004. Its members are active in a wide range of movements including the labor, anti-war, immigrants' rights, women's rights, and anti-police ...

. Jordan was criticized in the aftermath of a fatal shooting in her district where two

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

police officers, Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora were shot and killed in a domestic disturbance call; choosing instead to issue tweets about a local community garden. After criticism by residents, she stated she was told not to tweet about the slain officers. Several days later, she publicly sent condolences to the family of Lashawn McNeil, the alleged killer who was shot and killed by a third officer, alongside the families of the fallen cops. Explaining her motivation, Jordan stated "I mourn the loss of literally all human life. I don’t see it as contradictory to mourn the life lost of Lashawn as well as the lives of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora." In February 2022, Jordan received criticism for a Twitter thread blaming the U.S.,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

for their role in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. She said, "In 2014, the U.S. helped overthrow Ukraine’s democratically elected leader in an illegal coup, helped install a fascist government and empowered a far right military all with the goal of destabilizing Russia." In summer 2022, Jordan helped block a 1,000-unit project which would have consisted of 50% affordable housing and a civil rights museum. Jordan's rationale was that said "what they're calling affordable is otactually affordable to the community," as only 12% of the units were earmarked for individuals earning 30% of the area median income. Jordan said she would only support projects where more than half of all units were earmarked for individuals earning less than 30% of New York median income. Instead, a large truck depot was built and is set to open in December of 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Kristin Richardson 1987 births Living people Activists from New York City Poets from New York (state) New York (state) Democrats New York (state) socialists 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Democratic Socialists of America politicians from New York‎ Party for Socialism and Liberation politicians Brown University alumni African-American activists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people LGBT city councillors from the United States 20th-century African-American women Women New York City Council members New York City Council members Queer women