Congresswoman’s Social Media Post Stirs Debate
A recent political skirmish has reignited longstanding questions surrounding Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s frequently cited Bronx identity. On Tuesday, New York State Assemblyman Matt Slater released a high school yearbook photo that appears to contradict the congresswoman’s repeated assertions of growing up in the Bronx.
The online dispute emerged after Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic representative of New York’s 14th congressional district, called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump over his authorization of airstrikes in Iran without congressional approval.
In a pointed social media exchange, Ocasio-Cortez referenced her Bronx upbringing as a symbol of her resilience, stating, “I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast.”
This is literally the oldest rule in the book: The most vocal revolutionaries are never the actual poor, they’re always middle class kids who had a fairly comfortable upbringing and think they know what would be best for the poor. https://t.co/QQjw6Hpf8C
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) June 26, 2025
Assemblyman Slater, a Republican representing parts of Westchester and Putnam counties, responded by sharing a 2004 Yorktown High School yearbook photo showing a young Ocasio-Cortez, then known as “Sandy Cortez.”
He also posted the school’s yearbook cover and questioned the congresswoman’s Bronx narrative. “If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook? Give it up already,” Slater wrote.
The congresswoman’s early years are documented: born in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, she moved at age five to Yorktown Heights, an upper-middle-class suburb approximately 40 minutes north. There, she attended public schools, ultimately graduating from Yorktown High School before enrolling at Boston University.
Slater called the Bronx persona a “mythology,” arguing it misrepresents Ocasio-Cortez’s background. “The truth is AOC is Sandy Cortez who went to Yorktown High School and lived at the corner of Friends Road and Longvue Street,” Slater said in a statement to the New York Post.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously addressed her upbringing, stating that her family relocated to access better public schools while maintaining close ties to her extended family in the Bronx. She has also emphasized the role socioeconomic disparities played in shaping her worldview, particularly the contrast between her suburban education and that of her cousins in the Bronx.