The Message Behind “Bread and Roses” from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Inauguration Is Powerful

After a record-breaking win for his historic mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani was sworn into his role in New York City, NY on Jan. 1, 2026. The inauguration included appearances by stars such as The Kid Mero and Cynthia Nixon, who have been vocal about siding with the 30-something mayor. The progressive event also featured a compelling speech by Mamdani and a song that offered New Yorkers some hope as they entered another politically-divided year.

Singer Lucy Dacus took the stage and performed a song called "Bread and Roses." The song.resonated with many of the event's attendees, making some wonder what it means. Here's what to know.

Lucy proudly sang "Bread and Roses" in front of tens of thousands of New Yorkers. According to Rolling Stone, the song fit the inauguration's theme of preparing New Yorkers for a socialist future, one where everyone is fighting for the same thing: bread and roses.

The song "Bread and Roses" originated from a poem of the same name. According to the Zinn Education Project, James Oppenheim, published in American Magazine in December 1911 during the women's suffrage of the 1910s. However, it is commonly associated with the textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts during January to March 1912, now often known as the “Bread and Roses strike.” The strike, which united dozens of immigrant communities under the leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World, was led to a large extent by women.

Oppenheim is thought to have been inspired by the women involved in the movement, many of whom carried signs like "We want bread, but we want roses, too!” However, records show that he wrote the poem after the strike and was embraced by the strikers and the notion of “Bread and Roses” has become a cry for justice and dignity for women workers around the world.

The message behind "Bread and Roses" supports the notion that everyone, no matter what their job or financial status looks like. Mamdani's win came after he ran his campaign on ensuring that the everyday people of New York City would be protected by him. He made sure not to back down on his stance in his mayoral address on New Years Day.

“In writing this address, I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less,” Mamdani said. "I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.”

Amid his mayoral seat, Mamdani has proposed taxing the city’s wealthiest residents and raising the corporate tax rate to pay for some of the items he ran on, including universal childcare, “fast and free” city buses and enacting a rent freeze for rent stabilized tenants.