Well known former American Congressman (House of Reps) Charlie Rangel (of Harlem) passed away on Memorial Day weekend in New York; he was 94. He was a fixture in Congress, serving in the House for almost fifty years and at one time chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Committee that handled the huge American budget and writes tax laws. He also served in the NY State Assembly from (Black) Harlem for four years (1960s) and fought in the Korean War. He co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a true American hero. He revitalized urban neighborhoods where Blacks and other minorities, like Indian or African Guyanese or other groups, resided and that were neglected for decades.
Rangel’s struggle for civil rights benefited every group including immigrants and Indian Guyanese. He was an inspiration for Black politicians in USA as well as in the Caribbean. And for that, we as immigrants, and as Caribbean people or as Guyanese, are thankful and grateful for his service.
Rangel pushed President Obama’s (2009-16) agenda and vociferously defended Clinton during the impeachment hearings of the late 1990s. Although he may not have visited Guyana, he had an early association with Guyana (Forbes Burnham) going back to the 1960s and interacted with Guyanese students at City College of New York of the City University system from the 1970s onwards.
Rangel was a Black nationalist who championed the interests of Black Americans and Africa. But other minority groups benefited from his struggle. He was devoted to Black American and African cause although during a Nightline program with Ted Koppel on ABC News, he came out against an increase in immigration from the Caribbean and Africa, contending that those immigrants were taking away jobs of Black Americans. He didn’t like the comparison of Black Americans with Black Africans and Afro Caribbean people that showed that the latter two groups were doing economically better than the former. Black or African immigrants (including Guyanese and Jamaicans) still outperform native Black Americans on almost every economic measurement or social indicator including income and education.
Charlie, as we called him at CCNY, regularly visited the campus during Harlem Week in April/May annually since the 1970s and delivered lectures to students at countless seminars and conferences over a four decade period; several Guyanese, including Chuck Mohan and myself, were present at those lectures. Charlie and others would routinely engage students on campus on political issues and American Foreign Policy as well as on the US government’s support for Burnham and silence on election rigging.
My first encounter with Charlie Rangel was in Spring 1978 (while still a Freshman) when I was first elected to the Undergraduate Student Government representing the natural Sciences. He would come with several prominent Harlem politicians including what was known as “The Gang of Four” that included Percy Sutton (businessman), David Dinkins (former Mayor), and Basil Patterson (NY Secretary of State). They championed the upliftment of Black Americans particularly in New York State. Charlie survived the other three for several years.
Sutton, Patterson, and Rangel were very sympathetic with Burnham during the 1960s and did fundraisers for him in New York; Burnham met them during his visit to the city. It is not known whether they visited Guyana. Sutton, himself, gave a huge personal donation to Burnham.
Charlie was present at every lecture of Caribbean political leaders who spoke at CCNY including Michael Manley and PJ Patterson of Jamaica, Maurice Bishop and met with African leaders including Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela. He was not seen at any lectures delivered by Cheddi Jagan or Janet Jagan or Eusi Kwayana. Chalie spoke at dozens of meetings during my time at CCNY between 1977 and 1987 when I held elective office in Undergraduate and Graduate Students Governments including as President of Graduate Students Council. At the end of Obama two terms in January 2017 as President, who himself was at one time (mid-1980s) Harlem resident, Rangel said a lot of work needs to be done to close the racial divide. Obama, himself, visited CCNY when I was President of Graduate Students Council engaging students that included Guyanese. I did not see Obama in any meeting with Rangel at CCNY but they became close when he was elected first as Senator from Illinois and two years later as President.
Those of us as Caribbean people, or from the Indian diaspora, will not forget the role Charlie Rangel played in combating racism and marginalization of minority groups in USA. Because of his struggle and that of several other civil rights leaders and Members of Congress, opportunities were open to all minorities including Indo-Caribbean people and the Indian diaspora in New York state.
