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The soon-to-be youngest city council representative made rapid-fire leaps from Brooklyn resident to Black Lives Matter activist to politician. Now he’s poised to bring his agenda directly to the city’s next mayor.
(via Chi Ossé's Instagram)
Chi Ossé’s campaign for New York City Council stood out for a handful of reasons: his age (22, now 23), his origin story (a Brooklynite who became a Black Lives Matter activist virtually overnight), his gumption (he pulled together a winning campaign in a matter of weeks). Another reason was the imagery: Ossé’s campaign posters featured a striking black-and-red motif, with his face, sometimes in glasses and a sweater, sometimes sporting a black beret and turtleneck á la the Black Panther Party, superimposed over bold stripes. His style reflects his role: one that merges traditional politics with on-the-ground activism; one that means simultaneously running for office and maintaining a Black Lives Matter activist collective. “I wanted the design and look...to be exciting,” Ossé says. “I needed to engage individuals that have never been engaged before.”
After announcing his campaign in June 2020, winning endorsements from the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Raymond Santana of the Central Park Five, and knocking on thousands of doors in Brooklyn’s 36th District, Ossé is now poised to win. He’d be the youngest current member of New York’s city council and the district’s first openly queer representative. And while we won’t have “official” results from the Board of the Elections until the week of July 12—New York City’s new ranked-choice voting process means tabulation is taking longer—Ossé is mentally preparing for life in office.
We need more of this, young, diverse and willing to be politically active.
I can't even begin to explain how fucking ECSTATIC this makes me