'Mr. chairman!' U.S rep. Charles B. Rangel puts his signature on the powerful house ways and means committee

It's a lively day in Harlem. Amid the corner vendors and street hustlers, the grizzled fourth-generation Harlemites and the tailored professionals who now call the uptown Manhattan neighborhood home, Charles B. Rangel is at it again.

Crossing 125th Street, the new chairman of the influential U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the most powerful African-American elected official in Washington is swarmed by dozens of well-wishers. "You're making us proud," one man yells as the 77-year-old Rangel, dressed in a black pinstriped suit, walks toward the Apollo Theater. "Look at him. He's still fine after all these years," a woman chimes in.

But whether the role is paternal on issues of the day in Black America, moral on the top issue in America (the need to get U.S. troops out of Iraq), or precautionary on the presidential aspirations of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the 19-term congressman with the raspy voice and infectious smile seems to handle it all with ease. "It's exciting," Rangel says. "But it's been two different lives. One is the life on the streets of Harlem, where a lot of people don't know what I did, but they are proud that I did it. Wherever I go, they say, 'We made it! Congratulations!' But in Washington, it is an entirely different thing. When you're the chairman, you're the chairman--and everybody knows it."

Rangel's rise earlier this year to become the "chairman of the money" has been seen as a watershed moment for African-Americans, who historically have been shut out when it comes to deciding how to divvy up the trillions of dollars in the federal government's budget. "It's a new day," says Rangel, who has sought to lead the 41-member committee for the better part of the last decade. "If we're dealing with taxes, budget, social security and Medicare, it's good to know that one of the family is sitting at the head of the table."

Part of being an elder in the Black political family is advising fellow colleagues, including Obama, one of the newest members. Rangel, who has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), a close friend and senator from his state, says that he "encouraged [Obama] to run for president. I told him that ... it's a great opportunity for him, and it's a no-lose for him."

The chairman, a savvy player in the political game, knows what he's talking about, not only about a candidate's political future but also about power in general. Longtime friend and political supporter Percy E. Sutton, the famed civil fights attorney, politician and businessman who spurred the revitalization of the Apollo Theater, says that Rangel's position can't be understated. "He can have impact on us for a long, long time. Just by being there," Sutton says. "He's in a powerful position."

In Washington, the congressman knows Capitol Hill like a Renaissance-era trumpet player knew Lenox Avenue. In recent weeks, he worked behind the scenes to gather support across party lines for a war spending bill that put a timetable on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The bill passed the House and Senate, but President Bush vetoed it.

"Charlie Rangel is very important to the nation and beyond," says former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins. "He's not limited to Harlem. Given how important America is to the world, and to see the position in Congress that he holds, he is very important. He's done a whole lot already."

Rangel, perhaps his own harshest critic, says it was only a few years ago that he felt like he was powerless to do anything. In the midst of the Iraq War and a Republican-controlled Congress, he says he was haunted by a re-occurring dream, a nightmare that almost forced him into retirement.

"It was the lowest point ever in my 37 years in Congress ... ," he says. "It was a sad period where you saw lives being lost [in the war] and you couldn't do anything about it ..."

With the shift in power and his newfound leadership role, Rangel is more optimistic now, and change has come. "I feel like I'm not only here to see the ship turn around and get on the right course, but I'm steering it."

In addition to pushing to end the war in Iraq and leading efforts to reinstate the draft to make military service more equitable, one of Rangel's goals is to lead a nationwide war on poverty. "Poverty is a luxury that we can't afford ... ," he says.

During Rangel's political tenure, he has had several memorable moments, including his involvement in the $5 billion Empowerment Zone Act, which gave tax breaks to companies that invested in low-income communities, including Harlem. Although there is much talk about gentrification, Rangel says, "You would be hard pressed to see it [in Harlem]."

Observers say such efforts by Rangel are the main reason he has won election after election, most recently receiving 94 percent of the vote in his last election. Howard Dodson, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, says there's a simple explanation for the congressman's appeal to his constituency. "Whether we're talking about sparking a 21st century Renaissance in Harlem, saving the African Burial Ground Project, or coming to the defense of Oppressed and exploited people--especially people of African descent--around the world, Congressman Charles Rangel has been Harlem's, and America's, drum major for justice."