LEONARD GREENE: From upstart activist to political giant, Charles Rangel's death marks end of an era

Yahoo

7 days ago

Nearly 25 years have passed since an upstart Harlem minister tried to unseat the venerable Charlie Rangel, as much an institution as the Apollo Theater or the nearby Lenox Lounge.
He didn't even come close.
But as the Rev. Conrad Tillard recalls all these years later, he didn't make a political rival. He gained a friend for life.
'We had a great relationship,' Tillard said in a social media post after Rangel's death last week. 'I had great respect for him even though I attempted to push up on him in 2002. Yes, young lions do rise up on the Alpha. He and that formidable uptown organization did a smack down on us.'
Thirty years before that, Rangel had been the young lion rising up on the Alpha. The only difference then was that the young lion won.
Rangel, a lawyer with a few years in the state assembly under his belt, had vanquished the legendary congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. for the right to represent Harlem in the United States House of Representatives.
Rangel held the seat for 46 years before retiring in 2017, smacking down any and all comers, including Powell's namesake son.
Along the way, he became the first Black chair of the House's influential Ways and Means Committee, and was instrumental in the creation of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation that helped change the economic face of Harlem.
'A towering figure in American politics and a champion for justice, equity, and opportunity, Congressman Rangel dedicated over four decades of his life to public service,' the Rangel family said in a statement announcing his death Monday. 'Throughout his career, Congressman Rangel fought tirelessly for affordable housing, urban revitalization, fair tax policies, and equal opportunities for all Americans.'
It was only fitting that Rangel, a decorated war hero, would die on Memorial Day.
As an artillery operations specialist in an all-Black battalion during the Korean War, Rangel earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for leading a group of soldiers out of a deadly Chinese army encirclement during the Battle of Konu-ri.
The experience inspired his lifelong mantra, and the title to his 2007 memoir, 'And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since.'
After the war, Rangel spent much of the 50s as a desk clerk at Harlem's historic Hotel Theresa, which housed a bevy of Black royalty from Joe Louis to Josephine Baker.
'Those were my most exciting days,' a wistful Rangel told me years ago. 'I saw all the entertainers.'
He also saw all the hardship. Men like him, who risked their lives for a country a world away, were repaid with doors slammed in their faces.
'If you were poor in Harlem you weren't part of the renaissance,' Rangel said. 'People talk about the good ol' days, but for me the good ol' days were piss poor.'
Rangel used money from the G.I. Bill to earn a bachelor's degree from New York University, and a full scholarship to earn a law degree from St. John's University.
Rangel, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the nation's oldest African-American fraternity, worked in various jobs as a lawyer before jumping into politics. Along the way, he met Alma Carter, a social worker, while on the dance floor of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. They were married for 60 years until her death in 2024.
The other key partnership in his life was his membership in Harlem's historic Gang of Four, an alliance and friendship that broke political barriers.
It included former Secretary of State Basil Paterson, former businessman and Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and David Dinkins, New York City's first Black mayor.
Rangel was the last surviving member.
Such a rich life is worthy of honor and accolades, but Rangel wasn't much on any of it.
When asked how he would like to be remembered, the ever-witty Rangel didn't miss a beat.
'If I'm gone, quite frankly,' he said. 'I don't give a damn.'