After 46 years shaping the nation, pioneering Congressman Charlie Rangel, a true titan and beloved community fixture, has died. In a statement, the political powerhouse and relentless trailblazer’s family confirmed his death, announcing he passed away on Monday, May 26 surrounded by family. He was 94.
He wasn’t once called the “Lion of Lenox Avenue” for nothing. From 1971 up until 2017, Rangel served as a representative for five different congressional districts in Harlem. At the time of his retirement eight years ago, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the House.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement on X how he is “so sad to lose a dear friend and exemplary model of devotion and courage. My prayers are with his family, Harlem, and all who knew him.” He concluded: “Rest in power, my friend.”
Charles Bernard Rangel was born on June 11, 1930. After dropping out of high school at 16 years old, he served in the United States Army from 1948 until 1952. He was an artillery operations specialist in the all-Black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War. His courage, leadership, and fearlessness helped him lead some 40 men from his unit over a mountain when they were surrounded by Chinese forces. He was awarded a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with Valor, and three battle stars.
His list of accolades extend deep into the trenches of the Black community and Congress. He quickly emerged as a leader among the Black legislators in New York, participating in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches and initiating justice reform. He was elected to Congress in 1971 after defeating the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. by just 150 votes, per his autobiography.
Dubbed an unapologetic champion of justice, Rangel won re-election for Congress every two years until his retirement— usually with over 90 percent of the vote. Rangel also co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus, a non-partisan organization that positively “influences the course of events pertinent to African Americans” in 1971. Rangel was a loyal champion for the Caribbean, who advocated for a normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba and later for Haitian refugees.
The proud Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity member was the last surviving member of the “Gang of Four,” a coalition of Harlem lawmakers comprising the most powerful Black men in the state. Rangel, who graduated from New York University and St. John’s School of Law, also served as an assistant U.S. Attorney. He was also the primary sponsor to then-President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, now commonly known as Obamacare. Rangel was the first African-American chair of the House Ways and Means Committee on Capitol Hill, but resigned in 2010 after being found guilty of multiple ethics violations.
In the late 1950s, Rangel met social worker Alma Carter on the Savoy Ballroom dance floor in Harlem. They tied the knot on July 26, 1964, and had two children together, Steven and Alicia, whom he is survived by.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X how, “Harlem, NYC & America are better today because of his service.” The City College of New York in Harlem even named its school of public service after him.
In his 2006 autobiography, “And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress,” Rangel famously noted that the day he was wounded in the Korean War at the Battle of Kunu-ri in 1950 as a 20-year-old staff sergeant was the worst day of his life. But ever since then, he said he “never had a bad day since.”