Brian-Christopher A. Cunningham (born December 16, 1984) is an American politician serving as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from the 43rd district. He assumed office on March 30, 2022, succeeding Diana Richardson.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Cunningham was raised in the

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The son of immigrants from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, Cunningham attended public schools.

Career

Cunningham worked as an aide for members of the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...

and as an advocate counselor with CAMBA, Inc. Assemblyman Brian Cunningham - Ezras Nashim

Cunningham first sought election in 2017 for the 40th district of the New York City Council. He received second place in the Democratic primary to then-incumbent Mathieu Eugene. He then contested the general election after receiving the Reform Party's nomination, with the support of the Working Families Party. He again placed second to the then-incumbent. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in March 2022, succeeding Diana Richardson. In 2022, Cunningham endorsed

Yuh-Line Niou Yuh-Line Niou (; zh, t=牛毓琳, p=Niú Yùlín; born July 15, 1983) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 65th district. The Lower Manhattan district, which is heavily Democratic and over 40% ...

in the 2022 election in the 10th congressional district but later rescinded his endorsement following Niou's support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). In June 2023, Cunningham honored Ezras Nashim the first all-female volunteer EMT team, with the “2023 Women of Distinction Award.” In December 2024, Cunningham was selected to join the 2025-2026 Prenatal-to-Three Innovation Fellowship cohort, hosted by Future Caucus for young legislators invested in building bipartisan policy addressing key healthcare issues.

References

1984 births 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature African-American state legislators in New York (state) American politicians of Jamaican descent Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Living people People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn {{NewYork-politician-stub