Charles B. Rangel

Charles B. Rangel

About the Author

Charles B. Rangel served 23 terms as a Democratic congressman (1971-2017) who represented New York's "Fightin' 15th" District (including Harlem and the Upper West Side). He was the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rangel is the principal author of the $5 billion Federal Empowerment Zone demonstration project to revitalize urban neighborhoods across the U.S., and in the 1980s anti-apartheid movement he led the fight in Congress to pressure U.S. corporations to divest from South Africa. He served in the U.S. Army from 1948 to 1952, and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for service in Korea.