Jabari Brisport (born August 9, 1987) is an American politician, activist, and former public school teacher. He is the state senator for New York's 25th State Senate district in Brooklyn, and the first openly gay person of color ever elected to the New York State Legislature. Early life and education Brisport was raised in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, by a Caribbean immigrant father and a second-generation Brooklynite mother. During Brisport's childhood, his father worked at a sheet metal factory, and his mother was an office manager. He graduated from Poly Prep, a private high school in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama. Career Education Brisport taught math to 6th and 7th graders at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School, a public school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He is a member of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union. Activism At age 22, Brisport began organizing efforts in support of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. The bill was defeated in 2009, but Brisport continued organizing around the issue and same-sex marriage was legalized in New York two years later. A few years after that, Brisport got involved in the burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement and began organizing rallies and protests, as well as training protesters on what to do if stopped or harassed by the police. In 2017, he traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, to march in the counter-protest of a Unite the Right rally. Brisport joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) shortly after Donald Trump's election as president, and got involved in their work on access to affordable housing. He quickly became a leader in the fight against the private development of the Bedford Union Armory in Crown Heights. 2017 City Council race In 2017, Brisport ran against incumbent Laurie Cumbo in the 35th New York City Council District. In a rare Green Party primary, he defeated Scott Hutchinson, 32 votes to 4. Brisport was partially inspired to run for office by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He was endorsed by Our Revolution, New York Communities for Change, and the New York Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. He lost the election, receiving 29% of the vote. Brisport earned more independent votes than any council candidate since 2003. 2020 State Senate race In 2019, Brisport announced a run for the New York State Senate 25th