(AFP) – Charles Rangel, a founding member and pioneering leader of the US Congressional Black Caucus, died on Monday, the Caucus said. He was 94. A native and longtime resident of the storied New York neighborhood of Harlem, Rangel entered the US Congress in 1971, serving for 46 years before retiring in 2017. In the wake of the US civil rights movement, he emerged as a leading political voice representing Black Americans at the turn of the 1970s.
Rangel was the first African American to be appointed chairman of the powerful House Ways And Means Committee, which shapes fiscal legislation. He was forced out of that position and was censured for an ethics violation in 2010, but that did not appear to dent his electability, as he continued to hold public office until his retirement seven years later. The censure was related to alleged violations of congressional gift rules related to his acceptance of corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean, the New York Times reported.
Over the course of an almost-five-decade career, he established himself as an influential figure in the Democratic Party, forging close ties with former president Bill Clinton and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Rangel was instrumental in convincing Hillary Clinton to run for a US Senate seat in New York in 2000, kickstarting her political career.
“I’ll miss Charlie Rangel, a beloved icon and public servant of New York,” she posted on the X social media platform. “He was a proud veteran who loved serving his Harlem constituents. He urged me to run for the Senate and later was an invaluable colleague.” The Congressional Black Caucus called him “a trailblazer and statesman.”
“Known affectionately as the ‘Lion of Lenox Avenue,’ his legacy is one of tireless advocacy, historic firsts, and unwavering dedication to justice and equality. May he rest in power and everlasting peace,” the caucus said in a statement. New York City Council President Adrienne Adams described him as “a giant” of US politics. “He served with unmatched wit, courage, and an unshakable belief in the power of government to change lives,” she said in a statement. “His legacy lives on in the countless Black and Latino New Yorkers he lifted up and inspired.”
The death of Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War, came as the United States commemorated Memorial Day on Monday, a day honoring fallen US soldiers.
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