Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts Reception to Celebrate Bangladeshi Heritage

April 3, 2025

Watch video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3XGrnoAAxA

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, and I really want to thank Mir, who is a true representative of the community and what it stands for. And think about this for a moment, and I say this often, if I were to say, tell me what group I'm talking about. 

Come to the country, may not understand the language, work hard, may leave family members home, then eventually find a way to bring them over, open a small business, make sure their children enroll in school so they can take the next step in the journey. If I were to give you that description. You will have a difficult time telling me what immigrant group I'm talking about, because it is the journey and the story of every immigrant group. 

If you look under the fingernails of every immigrant group, you'll see the dirt and grime of climbing up the mountain of opportunity one hand at a time to earn their way in this great country we call America. The country is not great because. Because of the monolithic, one way of thinking. You are not called American Bangladeshi. I'm not called American African, a Chinese person is not called American Chinese, a Korean person is not called American Korean. 

America says, put your country first. Put your country first and don't abandon your culture, your dress, your code, your food, your energy. You are encouraged to keep it. You are encouraged to express yourself in the manner that you see fit. And it is welcoming and it's encouraging. 

But there's something that happens every once in a while with a particular immigrant group that comes to the country. They start to coalesce and emerge. They start to find their voice and they become stronger. Everyone eventually reached that spot, but then from time to time, you begin to see that there's something happening in a particular community. That is what I see in the Bangladeshi community. 
You're the largest Muslim community in the City of New York. You are known wherever your footprint is, you find peace, family, business, faith, commitment. I can go to McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn. I can travel up in the Bronx. I can go out to Queens. I see small businesses and families. I see not breaking the law, but providing support for law enforcement officers. I see your young men and women joining the Police Department so they can become part of our public safety apparatus. 

I see you in your mosques praying and believing in faith. I see the love and nurturing you show your children. I see your strength getting stronger and stronger as you open small businesses and operate your small businesses, building community right among this great city. 

This is an amazing opportunity for the Bangladeshi community. This is your moment to emerge as a powerful voice in the most powerful city in the most powerful country on the globe. You must organize to become stronger and stronger and stronger. Encourage your young people to go into city government so they can be like Mir. Encourage them to go into the Police Department so they can be part of the larger and larger law enforcement community. Encourage them to continue to open businesses and then register to vote. 

Your political power is the power. When you organize and start having people from your community to run for office, you should not be represented by those outside your community. You should be represented by someone from your community. That's your strength. That's your power. 

You shape your own destiny and then operate your own nonprofits. You don't need someone from outside your community to provide services for your seniors and your older adults. You don't need someone from outside your community to run your youth centers and community centers. You don't need someone from outside your community to show how to organize and give support to businesses. Be independent as we are dependent on each other. That's my message to you as we celebrate your heritage. 

There's nothing more significant that you can do. It's the state you found your voice. You're no longer living in the shadows of the American Dream. You are now contributors to that dream. Contributors to that dream. And let me tell you something. We need you. As much as you need us. It's a symbiotic relationship. 

During COVID, I saw your presence. I saw what you did. I see what you do every day as you provide a healthy environment for our city. And I'm excited about the future. I am mayor because of communities like yours. 

Other people didn't believe in me. Other people did not want to support me. But everyday communities like you came together and you said to me, “Eric, you're one of us. You know what life is and what it is to go through hard times.” Because to be a mayor that embraced the whole city must be a mayor that has gone through a lot so he can help those who are going through a lot. 
We're in this together and together we will continue to see the productivity in this city, but you are in a special moment right now. And take advantage of that moment. Continue to be as strong as you have been. 

I love this community. I love what you stand for and I want to continue to see you grow and aspire. And one day you are going to be coming through the security desk and walking inside this podium, and you're going to see someone that is going to say, “I'm proud to be the first Bengali to be the mayor of the City of New York.” If I can do it, then you can do it. Nothing will stop you from accomplishing your destiny. Assalamu alaikum.

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