Equity or Ideological Eugenics? Inside Mamdani’s Move to Eliminate Gifted Education

New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is facing backlash this week after publicly supporting the elimination of gifted and talented programs for first- and second-grade students in New York City public schools. The decision, made under the banner of “equity,” aims to combat what Mamdani calls academic segregation, arguing that advanced programs harm students who are not selected. But as the debate unfolds across the five boroughs, critics are calling it a dangerous step toward ideological conformity — one that punishes excellence, stifles merit-based opportunity, and undermines the intellectual development of young learners in the name of political optics.

The Optics: Equity and Inclusion

On the surface, this move is framed as a compassionate correction. In Mamdani’s telling, removing gifted programs:

• Prevents segregation
• Promotes fairness
• Helps children who feel “left behind”

He and his ideological allies argue that advanced placement for young learners creates inequities — that by allowing some students to move faster, others are harmed. It’s the same rhetorical tactic used across DEI policy: isolate disparities in outcome and assume oppression is the cause.

But once you peel back the language, the reality is far darker.

The Reality: Enforced Mediocrity and Targeted Suppression

What Mamdani has done is not equitable — it’s ideological equalization through suppression. Gifted and talented programs don’t create inequality. They acknowledge biological and cognitive diversity. They allow fast learners to stay challenged, curious, and engaged. Removing these programs does not lift the struggling. It simply handicaps the gifted.

And the hypocrisy is glaring:

• If a child struggles in school, we rally to support them — with IEPs, extra resources, specialized teachers, and endless institutional reinforcement.
• But if a child excels, they’re told to wait, sit quietly, and make room for everyone else.

So-called “equity” is only honored when it slows the pack, never when it accelerates potential.

This isn't about fairness. It's about control.

DEI's Intellectual Double Standard

Let’s get to the heart of it. If the DEI movement was truly about inclusion, it would include high-performance learners — especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds who desperately need these programs to escape cycles of poverty.

But instead, DEI treats high achievement as privilege. It pathologizes success. It views giftedness — especially when seen in white, Asian, or even high-performing black and Latino students — as an unfair advantage that must be neutralized.

And while Mamdani claims this is about ending segregation, let’s ask an honest question:

Why is it okay to create racially exclusive student groups, gender-based clubs, and identity-only graduation ceremonies — but unacceptable to group students by learning ability?

The answer? Because segregation isn’t the issue — independence is.

The Marxist Blueprint Behind It All

This pattern follows the classic Marxist playbook:

1. Erase distinctions of excellence
2. Create identity-based tribalism to replace merit
3. Centralize power in ideological institutions
4. Punish outliers who think, speak, or learn too freely

By removing gifted programs, Mamdani is following in the footsteps of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the Soviet assault on “bourgeois intelligence.” These regimes always feared the sharp-minded — because they couldn’t be indoctrinated as easily.

That’s the quiet war being waged here.

Gifted children become self-reliant thinkers.
Self-reliant thinkers become free adults.
Free adults don’t follow the Party.

So, the war starts early. In the classroom. First grade.

Final Thoughts: This Is About Power, Not Fairness

Let’s call this what it is:

• It’s not about ending segregation — it’s about replacing it with ideological sorting
• It’s not about equity — it’s about enforced sameness
• It’s not about inclusion — it’s about punishing excellence

By eliminating gifted education, Mamdani and the DEI machine are waging war on intellectual liberty — the kind of liberty that could one day expose them, challenge them, or replace them.

And that’s why they fear it.