Charles Barron facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Charles Barron


Member of the New York City Council from the 42nd district
In office January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2023
Preceded by	Inez Barron
Succeeded by	Chris Banks
In office January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013
Preceded by	Priscilla A. Wooten
Succeeded by	Inez Barron
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 60th district
In office January 3, 2015 – January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Inez Barron
Succeeded by	Nikki Lucas

Personal details
Born	(1950-10-07) October 7, 1950 (age 74) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Black Panther (1968–1982) Freedom Party of New York (2010–present)
Spouse	Inez Smith
Children	2
Education	New York City College of Technology Hunter College (BA)

Charles Barron (born October 7, 1950) is an American activist and politician. He is known for working to improve his community. He served in the New York City Council, representing a part of Brooklyn from 2022 to 2023. Before that, he held the same seat from 2002 to 2013. He also served in the New York Assembly from 2015 to 2022.

Barron calls himself an "elected activist." This means he uses his political roles to fight for what he believes in. He ran for Mayor of New York City in 2005. He also ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and 2012.

He started his career helping people in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn in the 1980s. He became a chief assistant for Rev. Herbert Daughtry. Later, he ran for and won a seat on the New York City Council.

Growing Up and School

Charles Barron was born on October 7, 1950. His family lived in Corona, Queens, for six years. Then, they moved to a housing project in Lower Manhattan. He went to Seward Park High School but left before finishing. He later earned his GED, which is like a high school diploma.

He continued his education at New York City Technical College. There, he earned an associate degree. He then went to Hunter College and earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology. Sociology is the study of how people live together in groups.

Early Community Work

Joining the Black Panther Party

In 1969, when Charles Barron was 18, he joined the Harlem branch of the Black Panther Party. He helped distribute newspapers for the group. This experience made him very interested in politics. He learned about independence movements in other countries. He also studied the ideas of African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana and Ahmed Sékou Touré from Guinea.

Barron became critical of how the U.S. handled its relationships with other countries. He often felt that the U.S. supported leaders he disagreed with.

Working with the National Black United Front

In 1979, Barron joined the National Black United Front (NBUF). He helped start the Harlem Chapter of this group. In 1982, he was involved in a protest at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The protest was about a new chief archivist at the center.

Soon after, Barron became a chief assistant to Reverend Herbert Daughtry. Daughtry was the chairperson of the NBUF. In 1983, Barron moved to East New York. There, he and his wife started a company called Dynamics of Leadership. They taught about negotiation, teamwork, and leadership. From 1982 to 1987, Barron also served as secretary general of the African Peoples Christian Organization (APCO). He traveled across the U.S., speaking at colleges, churches, and communities. He helped organize people around important issues.

On December 21, 1987, Barron took part in a protest against racism in the New York City Police Department. Protesters blocked traffic, including on the Brooklyn Bridge. They also stopped subway trains. Many protesters were arrested. Barron and others were held overnight.

In 1988, Barron wrote two children's books. One was called Up You Mighty People, You Can Accomplish What You Will. The other was Look For Me in the Whirlwind, which was about the life of Marcus Garvey.

Barron and his allies had some important successes. They stopped the city from building a wood-burning incinerator in their neighborhood. In 1996, they also fought against building a natural gas generator. Barron said his fight against the incinerator helped him get into politics.

Serving on the City Council

In 1997, Barron first ran for the city council. He lost that election. However, he ran again in 2001. This time, he won and became the City Councillor for the 42nd District. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2009. Each time, he won with a large number of votes.

In 2002, Barron became the head of the city council's Higher Education Committee. He spoke out against the City University of New York (CUNY). He felt CUNY was making it harder for minority students to get in. He argued that students should not be denied admission because of their earlier school performance. He pointed out that when CUNY changed its rules, the number of Black students went down.

In January 2006, Barron was the only Council member to vote against Christine Quinn for the speaker position. Quinn then moved his seat in the chamber. It was placed next to a statue of Thomas Jefferson. Barron had criticized Jefferson for being a slaveholder.

In 2009, Barron tried to change how power was shared in the council. He wanted to give more power to regular members. He also challenged Quinn for the speaker position but lost. After this, Quinn removed him as chairman of the Higher Education Committee.

Running for Mayor

Charles Barron ran for mayor of New York City in 2005. He said that one reason he was running was to balance power in the city. He felt that white men had too much power. He raised money and campaigned. However, in February 2005, he decided to stop his campaign. He chose to support another candidate, C. Virginia Fields.

Barron explained that he thought having two Black candidates in the race might split the vote. He said he would run again someday.

Running for Congress

In 2006, Barron ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He ran against the person who had held the seat for 24 years, Edolphus Towns. Barron lost that election.

He ran again for a House seat in 2012. This was for the seat that Edolphus Towns was leaving. Another candidate, Hakeem Jeffries, had raised more money. Barron received a surprise endorsement from Edolphus Towns. However, Barron also received an endorsement from David Duke, which caused controversy. Barron tried to distance himself from Duke's support.

On June 11, 2012, several elected officials supported Jeffries and spoke against Barron. They described Barron as anti-Semitic and criticized his support for leaders like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. Barron said that his voters cared more about local issues than foreign policy.

Barron lost the Democratic nomination to Jeffries on June 26, 2012. Jeffries won with 72% of the vote. Barron did not congratulate Jeffries. He said that Jeffries' campaign had used unfair tactics.

Running for State Assembly

On November 4, 2013, Barron announced he would run for a State Assembly seat. His wife, Inez, had previously held this seat. She was running for his City Council seat because he could not run again due to term limits. Barron said he would fight to raise taxes and increase funding for pre-kindergarten programs.

His Political Views

Education

On February 3, 2011, Barron joined parents and students protesting the closing of 12 schools. These schools were considered to be failing. On March 3, Barron celebrated when one of their protests was successful. PS 114 in Canarsie was allowed to stay open.

Walmart

In February 2011, the city council discussed allowing a Walmart store in Brooklyn. East New York was one of the possible locations. Barron strongly opposed this. He said that Walmart would not treat workers fairly.

Same-Sex Marriage

In November 2011, Barron said he was against same sex marriage. However, in a debate in June 2012, he did not state a position. Earlier, in 2010, he said he strongly supported civil unions. He also said he voted for all laws in the City Council about civil unions and gay rights. He believed that homosexual people should have equal protection under the law.

When asked if the fight for same-sex marriage was like the American Civil Rights Movement, Barron said no. He felt that the struggle for civil rights for African Americans was very different.

Israel and Gaza

Barron was a leader of the Viva Palestina-USA group. In July 2009, he joined a group that brought medical supplies to Gaza. This was to help the people living there.

In July 2009, Barron said that the Gaza Strip was like a "death camp." He compared the conditions to those the Nazis imposed on the Jews. He repeated this idea 11 months later. He said it was horrible that people in Gaza were dying because they were isolated.

Muammar Gaddafi, Robert Mugabe, and Louis Farrakhan

In November 2011, after the civil war in Libya, Barron supported Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He called Gaddafi a "freedom fighter."

On September 12, 2002, Barron hosted an event honoring Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. Barron praised Mugabe as a liberator of Black Africans. In 2008, he again supported Mugabe. He argued that Mugabe was only criticized when his government took land from white farmers.

Barron has also defended Louis Farrakhan against claims that Farrakhan is racist.

Police Actions

Barron has supported victims of police brutality. He said that crime in Black communities is not their fault. Instead, he believes it comes from a lack of economic opportunities. He said that crime could only be reduced by giving people more chances to succeed.

After a police shooting in 2006, Barron made some strong statements. He suggested that people in the community might be justified in using non-peaceful methods in response. He also publicly stated, "we don't shoot anybody, they shoot us."

Reparations for Slavery

Barron has spoken strongly about reparations for slavery. While on the city council, he suggested creating a group to study the effects of slavery on modern African Americans. He also wanted to use city money for reparations. He introduced a bill to get money from companies that had benefited from slavery in the past.

In 2002, Barron was criticized for a remark he made at a reparations rally. He later explained that it was an exaggeration and not meant to be taken seriously.

African-American History

Barron believes that U.S. history is not taught correctly in schools. He wants to promote African-American history in New York City public schools. He has suggested laws to make teaching African-American history a required part of school lessons. He also wants to rename buildings and schools and decorate them with items from Black history.

He wants to make Black history more public. He suggested putting up portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. He sees them as important American leaders. Barron proposed bills to honor America's African American heritage. He also wanted to honor people like Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass, Paul Robeson, and W. E. B. Du Bois. He even suggested a bill that would ask President George W. Bush to cancel all debts that African nations owed the U.S.

Help for the Wrongly Accused

Barron has asked for mercy for people he called "political prisoners." For example, in 2002, he asked for the release of Anthony Bottom, Albert Washington, and Herman Bell. They were convicted of killing two police officers in 1971. However, some evidence later suggested that government tactics in their case were questionable.

In 2009, Barron asked New York City to pay money to five men. These men were wrongly accused in the Central Park Jogger case.

Immigration

In April 2006, Barron appeared on a TV show. He said that opposition to current immigration often involves skin color. He argued that European immigrants in the late 1800s were welcomed because of their skin color. He said that when immigrants from other parts of the world started coming, people began to say "these people."

Pledge of Allegiance

Barron says he does not salute the flag or believe in the Pledge of Allegiance. He states that the pledge's idea of equality and justice for all is not true for African-Americans. In 2004, he strongly disagreed with a City Council plan to start each meeting with a voluntary Pledge.

Capitalism

Barron has criticized crony capitalism. He called it a "deeply-rooted illness" in America. He wrote about the $700 billion bailout package in 2008. He called it the "biggest welfare check in the history of the planet." He said it was wrong to give money to Wall Street during a downturn. He believes that capitalism should be replaced with socialism.

Gentrification

At a meeting in 2019, Barron talked about keeping his district mostly Black. He said that his community had seen an increase in its Black population. He also said that his community had lost white residents. He stated that if white people were seen in his neighborhood, they were just passing through.

Housing Crisis

In 2007, Barron held a meeting about the housing crisis. He wanted to help residents who were in danger of losing their homes. Barron said that the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 mostly hurt African-Americans. He felt they were tricked by unfair business practices.