Congressman Charles Rangel's legacy honored at St. Patrick's Cathedral service
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) – The Lion of Lenox Avenue voice roared one final time in the city as the proud son of Harlem, Charles B. Rangel, was remembered inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
A past president, the governor and many more friends and family members shared their memories of him. The casket of Charles B. Rangel was presented with full Army honors for the Korean War Veteran.
Harlem’s champion spent 46 years fighting for his uptown district in Congress.
Rangel helped found the Congressional Black Caucus, and was remembered for his commitment helping those who needed it the most with signature legislation around jobs, housing, healthcare and more.
Still for those he served with they remembered most, not what he achieved, but who he was.
“Charlie Rangel was a good man, a family man, a well educated man, a well dressed man, an alpha man, an army man, a community man, a courageous man, a compassionate man, a humorous man, a hard working man, and above all else Charlie Rangel was a Harlem man,” said House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus Hakeem Jeffries.
In fact Rangel was the last surviving member of Harlem’s Gang of Four, prominent black leaders who rose to the highest ranks of New York politics.
His son Steven Rangel joined the children of David Dinkins, Basil Paterson and Percy Sutton for the traditional funeral presentation of “Gifts to the Lord.”
Still with top Democratic leaders gathered together, few shy away from drawing a line from Rangel’s legacy to the politics of today.
“I ask all of you never to forget the smile on his face, the spring in his step, and the steel in his spike and fight on for the world he loved and the country he believed in,” said Former President Bill Clinton.
“Are we going to pick up that mantle of leadership or cower to what is happening in our country? As we speak not just in the country but in cities like L.A. and New York, Charlie wants us to fight back and we will thank you. Everyone, let's do it in Charlie's name,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul.
There is a plan underway to name a prominent street in Harlem after the late Congressman Rangel. Charles B. Rangel was 94.