Why all the focus on Charles Rangel as of late? Is there a power move going on to get him out of there?

[UpsonDowns]

Originally Posted by DAS

Would you put Rangel in the same catagory as Sharpton and Jackson? I am asking because most Harlemites feel that Rangel didn't do that much concerning housing and business opportunities for them until gentrification started. Then they feel that he sold them out. He is identified more with the establishment and status quo. Where as Sharpton and Jackson are something else altogether.

I guess I think of Sharpton and Jackson as a different type of establishment - part of the black establishment, the type of political figures like Rangel who do not groom and make room for new voices and new ideas in a desperate attempt to hold on to whatever power they had when the were rising in power.

Don't get me wrong, without Jesse Jackson, Obama wouldn't be where he is today. Jackson fought for the apportionment system that Obama's team so brilliantly played. However, it is time for men of the older generation to step aside. I hope to see some women come too.

[greatdameinthemorning]

Rangel's Apartment issues are nothing compared to the atrocities going on in Harlem. Citizens of the community are being forced out by rising rents and broken down buildings. I remember a time when the people of Harlem were proud and full of motivation, and ready for action. If you know your history, then you know that Adam Clayton Powell was one of the best motivators and political geniuses in Harlem. Rangel's contribution to Harlem pales in comparison to Powell's, as Powell asks citizens of Harlem "What's in Your Hands"

Oh! and by the way I'm not an old school veteran, I'm a 30 year old individual who respects the old school ways, which were certainly more prolific than anything my generation has yet to produce.

[DAS]

The documentary I saw was about Powell and they showed that entire sermon "What's in Your Hands", very powerful.

Powell helped to change the NYC civil service laws to hire "minorities" in all city jobs like transit, police, sanitation, hospitals, human resources. All of these types of jobs prevented "minorities" from obtaining employment before Powell organized protests. Dr King would later study Powell's tactics along with Ghandi's for civil rights.

[ontheGtrain]

Rangel must not have been kicking back to the right people. He is the same guy he has always been. He has stepped on the wrong toes and they are using the media to move on him. Who this is I don't know but whoever it is, they are going strong and know how to play the media to make things happen.