Chirlane McCray is an American activist, writer and poet. As the wife of New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio, she is also the First Lady of New York City since 2014. Born into a middleclass African-American family and raised primarily in an all-white locality, she suffered racial abuse both in and outside school. But instead of being subjugated by such torments, she found courage to stand up to her tormentor, writing poems as an outlet for her anger. Later she graduated with B.A. degree and started working in publications before moving to politics, working in press offices, writing speeches for the Mayor and Comptrollers. As the First Lady of New York City, she chairs Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and works on mental health and substance abuse.
