Farewell to the Lion: Charlie Rangel RIP

Former US Representative Charles Rangel, who represented Harlem in Congress for nearly half-a-century, from 1971 to 2017, has died. He was 94.

Known as the Lion of Lennox Avenue, Rangel's career bridged the local politics of Harlem and NYC, and the vast power of the American government.

He was not only part of the Gang of Four that consolidated black political power in NYC but he also had the ear of mayors, governors, and presidents from both political parties for decades. He served on the Judiciary Committee in 1974, voting to impeach President Nixon for Watergate.

When Charlie Rangel spoke, people listened. He was a giant, truly a lion. 

I remember many years ago, Rangel was on the CNN political chat show Crossfire. Rangel was debating some issue against the conservative journalist Robert Novak. Novak was an asshole. He was super right-wing, he hated everybody, respected no one, trash talked just about everyone. But to Charlie Rangel he said, "Congressman, you know how much I respect you."

Now that's power. 

I'm currently watching the mini-serie The Leopard on Netflix, about a noble Sicilian family losing power in the 1860s during the Resorgimento, the unification of Itaty. The final lines are: "We were the Leopard, the lions; those who'll take our places will be little jackals, hyenas ..."

With the passing of Charlie Rangel, never has that been more true than today.