Former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman speaks during an interview with a reporter outside a subway station on June 17, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Bowman is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee whose district includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County in next week’s primary.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who defeated veteran New York lawmaker Eliot Engel in last year's Democratic primary, announced on Twitter that his mother has died of COVID-19.
“It is with deep sorrow that I share the passing of our mother, Ms. Pauline Bowman,” the congressman said Tuesday. “She battled Covid for many weeks before transitioning on Valentine’s Day.”
Bowman, a 44-year-old former middle school principal, said his mother raised her children “to live our lives with love and joy with and for each other.”
Many elected officials tweeted their condolences.
“You keep her legacy of love and joy alive every single day,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said. “I’m keeping you, your mom, and your entire family in my prayers.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts tweeted: “You are the manifestation of our ancestors’ dreams & your mother’s example, labor & prayers. I missed the blessing of meeting her but feel I’ve come to know her by way of your kind, righteous & brilliant example."
Bowman represents a district that includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. He is the first male member of the so-called “squad” of progressive Democrats in Congress.
