Congressman Face Plagiarism Allegations
Jamaal Bowman, a New York congressman, has had a very good past couple of months.
Currently running for re-election, the reports indicate that things aren’t going well. On top of the Hillary Clinton loudly endorsed his opponent, he got in trouble for his little fire alarm stunt, local Jewish community leaders exposed his text messages in a report, and now a devastating report has been released accusing the Congressman of plagiarizing his dissertation.
Bowman’s dissertation, carried out at Manhattanville College, champions the idea of “community schools.” This theory, conceived by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian Marxist educator, argues that schools should offer full-time government services encompassing every aspect of society, including adults. This model suggests that the government, rather than parents, bear the responsibility for a child’s success.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman just got caught plagiarizing from a summary of ‘Critical Race Theory: An Introduction’ in his doctoral dissertation.
He wrote in 2019 how minorities have been “historically oppressed throughout American history.”
Bowman is a plagiarist just like Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/n5nSkKH0jZ
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 21, 2024
The statistical work in the dissertation is scant, relying mainly on “qualitative” research. Bowman’s categorization of individuals as either oppressors or oppressed based on demographic data is rather concerning. His analysis of community schools in New York City contradicts his advocacy for the community schools model. His own research data shows these schools underperform when compared to regular schools. Rather than reconsidering his hypothesis, he recommends improving professional learning opportunities.
Moreover, it appears that Bowman’s dissertation includes numerous instances of plagiarism. In one section, he reproduces another author’s summary of a book on critical race theory, missing the necessary quotation marks. He also borrows citations from other sources and inaccurately restates them. This mannerism is repeated throughout his work.
Take note that nobody is circling the wagons to help Bowman out, either.