Charles Barron
| Charles Barron | |
|---|---|
Councilman Charles Barron
|
|
| Member of the New York Assembly from the 60th District | |
|
Assumed office January 3, 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Inez Barron |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 42nd District | |
|
In office January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Priscilla Wooten |
| Succeeded by | Inez Barron |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 7, 1950 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Inez Barron |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Hunter College |
| Profession |
|
Charles Barron (born October 7, 1950) is an American activist and politician who currently represents the 60th District of the New York Assembly. Formerly, he represented Brooklyn's 42nd District on the New York City Council from 2001 to 2013.
A self-described "elected activist", Barron ran for Mayor of New York City in 2005. In 2006 he was narrowly defeated by Edolphus Towns in the Democratic Party primary for the U.S. House of Representatives (10th Congressional District). He ran again in the Democratic primary for the 8th District Congressional seat being vacated by Towns, but lost to State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, 28% to 72%.
Barron began his career working as a community activist in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn in the 1980s. He became chief of staff for Rev. Herbert Daughtry before running for the New York city council, where he served from 2001 to 2013.
Barron was born on October 7, 1950. For six years his family lived in Corona, Queens, then moved to the Lillian Wald housing project in Lower Manhattan. He attended Seward Park High School in Lower Manhattan, but left before graduating, but later earned his GED. He went on to attend New York City Technical College (then known as New York City Community College), earning an associate degree, and Hunter College, where he graduated with a B.A. in Sociology.
In 1969, when he was 18 years old, Barron was recruited to the Harlem branch of the Black Panther Party by a member named Mark Holder. Barron distributed newspapers for the party, and developed an interest in politics. He studied the Third World independence movement and the ideas of African leaders as Kwame Nkrumah (president of Ghana) and Ahmed Sékou Touré (president of Guinea). Barron became increasingly critical of U.S. foreign policy. He opposed the Duvaliers in Haiti, Pinochet in Chile, Marcos in the Philippines, Pahlavi of Iran, and Somoza of Nicaragua. He recalled in 2010, "It was strange, because everybody I was against, America was for."
...
Wikipedia