Charles Barron
Encyclopedia
Charles Barron is a Democratic politician who represents the 42nd District of New York City in the New York City Council
. He is a former Black Panther
with staunch beliefs in affirmative action, reparations for slavery, Ebonics training for teachers, and a dislike of capitalism.
Barron led protests and community activism in the East New York section of Brooklyn in the '80s. He transitioned into elected office in 1997 at the urging of his supporters in East New York. He has remained highly popular in his district, and has served in the Council since 2001.
As a City Councilman, he gained a reputation for his inflammatory style. During his time as Councilman, he had a political rivalry with Speaker Christine Quinn, voting against her twice. He has unsuccessfully run for mayor of New York City, Brooklyn Borough President, and narrowly lost a primary for the House seat in the 10th Congressional district, which shares his constituency. Since 2006, Barron felt disaffected from the Democratic Party and increasingly called for greater Black self-determination, launching a new "Black and Latino-led Freedom Party
." On this third-party line, Barron ran for Governor in 2010, finishing 6th in a field of 7 candidates. Because of term limits, he will leave the City Council in 2013, and has expressed interest in expanding his Freedom Party to new states in the future.
He has a taste for Nehru suits, and wears them to public gatherings.
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, as well as the ideas of such leaders as Kwame Nkrumah
(president of Ghana
) and Ahmed Sékou Touré
(president of Guinea
). Barron became increasingly critical of the United States 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." Barron gravitated towards Marxism
and especially the Maoist
ideology that was important to the original Black Panther Party
.
After his time in the Black Panthers, Barron attended New York City Technical College (then known as New York City Community College), and obtained an associate's degree
. He later attended Hunter College
where he earned a bachelor of arts
in sociology with a minor
in elementary education.
In 1979, he joined the National Black United Front
(NBUF), and was the founding chairperson of its Harlem
Chapter. In 1982, as head of the Harlem Chapter, Barron was arrested with Preston Wilcox from the Institute of African Research because they, with roughly 12 to 20 other protesters, attempted to "forcibly remove" a white employee from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. They intended to remove Robert Morris, a white historian, who was appointed chief archivist for the Center. The members of the group were charged with harassment and criminal trespassing. Shortly after the incident, Barron was appointed chief of staff to the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, chairperson of the NBUF. From 1982-87 Barron served as Secretary General of African Peoples Christian Organization (APCO). He traveled across the United States visiting college campuses, churches, prisons and communities "organizing around international, national and local issues".
Barron participated in the "day of unrest" on December 21, 1987 to protest racism in the New York City Police Department
and the local courts. The protest involved blocking eastbound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge
, stopping subway trains in several stations, and disrupting automobile traffic during the evening rush hour. More than 70 protesters were arrested; most were charged with obstruction of government administration and disorderly conduct. The few who had actually stood on the subway tracks including Barron, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Rev. Timothy Mitchell, Assemblyman Roger Greene, and lawyer C. Vernon Mason
were additionally charged with criminal trespass. All were held overnight in jail, which elicited further complaints of racial bias. Sharpton, Mitchell and Barron were convicted in February 1990, with Mitchell and Barron being jailed for 45 days. Barron spent another 25 days in jail, with Sharpton, for a protest related to the Tawana Brawley rape allegations.
In 2001, Barron was one of several black leaders who mounted pressure on federal officials to return the skeletons of buried Africans which had been exhumed for research.
, where he and his wife founded the Dynamics of Leadership Company. He spoke at many organizations and schools, teaching principles of negotiation, team-building, emotional intelligence, and leadership. He made over $100,000 a year for several years as a public speaker, and was paid by Harvard and Yale to speak on their campuses. In 1988, he published two children's books, Up You Mighty People, You Can Accomplish What You Will and Look For Me in the Whirlwind, written about the life of Marcus Garvey
.
Barron continued his political activism in East New York, and established himself as a grassroots
activist in the community. He created a new local branch of the Black United Front called the East New York United Front. He and community allies successfully prevented the City of New York from erecting a wood-burning incinerator in that neighborhood. In 1996, they fought against the building of a natural gas generator. Barron's opposition to the incinerator "catapulted" him into politics, as he said, "I got sick and tired of being at City Council hearings and listening to people who were less intelligent than I was, who were less committed than I was." In 1997, Barron raised tensions with Council member Priscilla Wooten, calling her policies "backward" and criticizing her for not taking enough initiative with regard to community development in East New York. Barron was endorsed by David Dinkins
and Al Sharpton
, who said Wooten's support for Giuliani was a "cardinal sin" Barron ran against Wooten in 1997 but lost. Wooten made multiple legal charges to keep Barron off of the ballot, but her attempts were thrown out of court. He ran in 2001, when term limits prevented her from running again. He defeated Wooten's son, Donald, becoming the City Councillor of the 42nd District. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2009, each time with over 85% of the popular vote.
to cancel of all debts African nations owe the U.S.
for raising admission standards through the use of entrance exams and the elimination of remedial courses; he said, "I think racism comes behind standards." Barron advanced the view that the university raised admission standards in order to restrict access to minority students. He argued that college-age students should not be denied admission to four-year colleges because of failures at the pre-college level. He further argued that CUNY's four-year colleges initiated open admission at a time when the student body was predominantly white, dramatically increasing the number of black students at the four-year colleges; however, when the City University ended open admissions the number of black students declined while changes in the proportions of other ethnic groups were minimal.
at New York City Hall, praising him as a liberator for black Africans in then-Rhodesia
. Among the attendees of the event were about a dozen city councillors besides Barron, most of whom were Black or Latino.
did not vote for a bill to rename a street after black nationalist Sonny Carson, Barron's chief of staff, Viola Plummer, said she would thwart the member's run for Queens Borough President. Plummer told reporters, "If it takes an assassination of his ass, he will not be borough president in the borough where I live." She later said the "assassination" would only be political, but the threatening language led Speaker Quinn to fire Plummer. Plummer, with the support of Barron, filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Quinn to regain the chief-of-staff job.
In 2007, Barron and several activists defiantly renamed a park for Sonny Carson, despite the City Council rejecting the idea. Throughout 2008 and 2009, Barron held protests and took part in a lawsuit to re-instate term limits on the mayor and city councilmembers. He had pledged not to run for a third term in 2008, but changed his mind, winning a third term in 2009. In 2009, Barron intensified his rivalry with Quinn, and proposed a "Democratic Reform Movement" with City Councillor Tony Avella
to shift power away from the Council Speaker to rank-and-file members. Barron and Avella proposed electing a black or Latino member as Speaker to replace Quinn. Barron challenged Quinn for the Speakership but was roundly defeated by a Council vote of 48 to 1. Subsequently, Quinn, who in the role of Speaker, determines Committee chairpersonships, organized a vote to remove Barron from his chairmanship of the Higher Education Committee. Barron lost 47-1. His nay vote was the only vote in his favor.
Barron said that the move to strip him of the committee chairmanship was "racist," and speculated that it was partly in response to a shouting match that had occurred about two months earlier between him and City University trustee Jeffrey Weisenfeld at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new building. At the ceremony, Barron had complained on the podium that he and some black attendees had been discriminated against in the seating and other ceremony-related arrangements. Weisenfeld shouted from the audience that Barron was being disruptive and the two then traded several insults. Barron called him a "sickening racist" and repeatedly told him to "shut up." Barron later told reporters that Wiesenfeld was "a right-wing, ignorant, racist fool.” In firing Barron, Quinn said that the Council needs chairpersons "that are unifying forces." In January 2010, Barron again ran against Quinn for the position of Speaker, and lost 50-1. During the vote, Barron's supporters shouted "sellout" and "Uncle Tom" to black Council members who voted for Quinn.
had reversed her decision and would keep PS 114 in Canarsie open.
In July 2009, Barron, former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
, Dead Prez
rapper M1
, and several rabbis were among 200 participants in the Viva Palestina relief convoy organized by United Kingdom member of parliament George Galloway
. The convoy penetrated the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza
, which was ruled by Hamas, to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza's one and a half million inhabitants. Barron, McKinney, and 200 volunteers signed a letter addressed to President Obama, asking for his assistance in allowing them to proceed into Gaza.
Barron made statements comparing the situation in Gaza to concentration camps, prompting accusations of anti-semitism from Jewish leaders.
raised $1.2 million in 6 months and Gifford Miller
, $1 million in 6 months. Barron chose to endorse Fields rather than attempt a long-shot campaign. "I think two blacks in the race cancel each other out," he said, indicating a fear that the black vote would be divided and weakened by the choice of two candidates. Barron vowed that he would run again, saying "I will be back. I will be mayor of New York City before I leave this planet. It may be in 2009 or it may not be until 2013, but I will be mayor someday."
During the campaign, he criticized rival Democrat Fernando Ferrer for his comments regarding the Amadou Diallo
shooting. Barron said the comments brought "irreversible" damage to Ferrer's campaign and hoped Ferrer would drop out of the race and endorse Fields.
In 2006, Barron expressed his disaffection from the Democratic Party, disappointed by the large number of cross-endorsements Bloomberg received from Democrats. He said the Party was in need of a "political audit" and had "moved so far to the right that they might as well be called Republicrats." He told the Amsterdam News, "Black folks need to consider a mass exodus from the Democratic Party and build a new party of their own, because the Democrats have turned their backs on them on too many occasions. We should not give any party blind loyalty and support. Instead, we should really form a grassroots, Black-agenda-based third-party option."
because Barron was annoyed that Cuomo picked Rochester mayor Robert Duffy, instead of an African-American politician, for the position of Lieutenant Governor
. Barron created the New York Democratic Freedom Party
in protest of Cuomo's all-White ticket
. When speaking about Cuomo, Barron said, "He’s done nothing to deserve our support; he’s hurt the black community. Remember he was with his father, when his father built more prisons than any other governor in the history of New York State. Andrew was with daddy and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree...Andrew’s arrogant, he’s just like his father." Barron's Freedom Party needed 15,000 petition signatures in order to be on the November 2, 2010 ballot, and his campaign collected 43,000. A rival City Councilman, Lewis Fidler
, said the Party was "morally wrong" for being race-based, and threatened to challenge the signature count in court. Barron countered, saying the Party was "about blacks and Latinos voting for their dignity" and accused Fidler of being a "puppet" to Cuomo. Barron expressed resentment towards the Democratic Party, saying it "has taken us for granted. It's time for us to be for us. It's time for us to be a self-determining people." Barron aimed to get 50,000 votes in the governor's race, enough to gain ballot access for his Freedom Party. He finished in second-to-last place, drawing 24,560 votes. Outside of New York City, Barron drew fewer than 5,000 votes out of over 3,000,000 cast.
. He has said that crime is not the fault of the black community, but rather, is a consequence of the community's economic plight. Barron said that crime could only be reduced by economic opportunities and advancement, and without economic opportunities, "every black community is a powder keg."
In response to the NYPD shooting of three individuals—including the fatal shooting of a 23 year-old prospective bridegroom, Sean Bell outside of a Jamaica, Queens
strip club in 2006, Barron made a number of controversial statements, including one that implied that members of Bell's community would be justified in exercising non-peaceful or violent methods in response to his death. Barron has publicly stated that "we don't shoot anybody, they shoot us."
Barron's name was floated with death threats on NYPD Rant, an internet forum, during 2007. Barron and the 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement called for a prompt investigation, and security detail was increased.
. In 2002, Barron received reprimands for a comment he made at a reparations rally:
As Councilor, he drafted a bill in the Council to establish a commission towards reparations, and has spoken to black audiences on many occasions urging them not to forget America owes reparations to African Americans.
throughout the New York City public school system. He has drafted legislation mandating the teaching of African-American history in required school curriculum. He has used his position as Councilman to propose renaming buildings and schools as well as decorating them with mementos of black history. He wishes to publicize more black history, including erecting portraits of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X
, as important leaders in American history. In Baron's view, many of the current monuments erected to the founding fathers subtly represent slavery. George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson
, for example, were slave owners whom he feels are remembered as false liberators because they still supported the institution of slavery.
, said the entire "immigration problem" is really a Black-White issue. He argued that Germans, Jews, Poles, Greeks, and Italians who immigrated to the United States during the late 19th century were welcomed because of the color of their skin, but now, "All of a sudden when the complexion of immigration changes, now it's 'these people'." He rejected rebuttals from host Bill O'Reilly
on the grounds that the original European immigrants had received preferential treatment, stating "They had enough black people here already that were skilled and couldn't get the jobs that your people [referring to European-Americans] were able to get."
O'Reilly accused Barron of trying to "let everyone into the country" simply "to change the complexion of America". Many viewers responded to this episode, upset that Barron would not concede that White immigrants indeed were discriminated against as well.
He has advocated voting for non-citizens and amnesty for illegal immigrants ("don't criminalize, legalize").
. Barron holds the view that saying the pledge is "a lie" that states equality and justice for all, which is not true for American blacks. In 2004, he strongly objected to a move by the City Council that would begin each meeting with a voluntary Pledge.
in 2008, calling it the "biggest welfare check in the history of the planet". He said it was "a contradiction of capitalism" to give money to Wall Street during a slump while it had said for years that there was "no money for the people."
Barron confronted gentrification of New York, saying "Housing policies are the new racism! That's the new Jim Crowism-pricing you out of housing!"
Barron wrote an editorial praising Muammar Gaddafi
for his work towards a United States of Africa
. He called Barack Obama's bombing of Libya a "racist imperialist" move, suggesting that Obama wanted to control Libyan oil. He criticized NATO's killing of Gaddafi's son and grandchildren, saying the United States and NATO were on a mission to assassinate him.
Barron held a mortgage woes forum in 2007 to address concerns from residents who were in danger of house foreclosure. Barron said the subprime mortgage crisis
of 2007 predominantly hurt African-Americans, who were lied to by predatory business practices.
In 2009, Barron put pressure on owners of Obama Fried Chicken to change their store name, saying it exploited black stereotypes.
On September 27, 2011, which was Day 11
of the Occupy Wall Street
event, Barron visited and spoke to the demonstrators, expressing his support.
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. He is a former Black Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
with staunch beliefs in affirmative action, reparations for slavery, Ebonics training for teachers, and a dislike of capitalism.
Barron led protests and community activism in the East New York section of Brooklyn in the '80s. He transitioned into elected office in 1997 at the urging of his supporters in East New York. He has remained highly popular in his district, and has served in the Council since 2001.
As a City Councilman, he gained a reputation for his inflammatory style. During his time as Councilman, he had a political rivalry with Speaker Christine Quinn, voting against her twice. He has unsuccessfully run for mayor of New York City, Brooklyn Borough President, and narrowly lost a primary for the House seat in the 10th Congressional district, which shares his constituency. Since 2006, Barron felt disaffected from the Democratic Party and increasingly called for greater Black self-determination, launching a new "Black and Latino-led Freedom Party
Freedom Party of New York
The Freedom Party of New York is a name given to two separate political parties that existed only in the state of New York. The first, created by allies of would-be Governor George Pataki, gained ballot access in the 1994 gubernatorial election under the name "Tax Cut Now Party," and gained the...
." On this third-party line, Barron ran for Governor in 2010, finishing 6th in a field of 7 candidates. Because of term limits, he will leave the City Council in 2013, and has expressed interest in expanding his Freedom Party to new states in the future.
He has a taste for Nehru suits, and wears them to public gatherings.
Black Activism
In 1969, when he was 18 years old, Barron was recruited to the Harlem branch of the Black Panther PartyBlack Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
by a member named Mark Holder. Barron distributed newspapers for the Party, and developed an interest in politics. He studied the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
independence movement, as well as the ideas of such leaders as Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
(president of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) and Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Ahmed Sékou Touré was an African political leader and President of Guinea from 1958 to his death in 1984...
(president of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
). Barron became increasingly critical of the United States foreign policy. He opposed the Duvaliers in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Somoza of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. He recalled in 2010, "It was strange, because everybody I was against, America was for." Barron gravitated towards Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and especially the Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
ideology that was important to the original Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
.
After his time in the Black Panthers, Barron attended New York City Technical College (then known as New York City Community College), and obtained an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
. He later attended Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
where he earned a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in sociology with a minor
Academic minor
An academic minor is a college or university student's declared secondary field of study or specialization during his or her undergraduate studies. As with an academic major, the college or university in question lays out a framework of required classes or class types a student must complete to...
in elementary education.
In 1979, he joined the National Black United Front
National Black United Front
The National Black United Front is an African-American organization formed in the late 1970s in Brooklyn, New York. Its headquarters are in South Shore, Chicago, Illinois....
(NBUF), and was the founding chairperson of its Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
Chapter. In 1982, as head of the Harlem Chapter, Barron was arrested with Preston Wilcox from the Institute of African Research because they, with roughly 12 to 20 other protesters, attempted to "forcibly remove" a white employee from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. They intended to remove Robert Morris, a white historian, who was appointed chief archivist for the Center. The members of the group were charged with harassment and criminal trespassing. Shortly after the incident, Barron was appointed chief of staff to the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, chairperson of the NBUF. From 1982-87 Barron served as Secretary General of African Peoples Christian Organization (APCO). He traveled across the United States visiting college campuses, churches, prisons and communities "organizing around international, national and local issues".
Barron participated in the "day of unrest" on December 21, 1987 to protest racism in the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and the local courts. The protest involved blocking eastbound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, stopping subway trains in several stations, and disrupting automobile traffic during the evening rush hour. More than 70 protesters were arrested; most were charged with obstruction of government administration and disorderly conduct. The few who had actually stood on the subway tracks including Barron, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Rev. Timothy Mitchell, Assemblyman Roger Greene, and lawyer C. Vernon Mason
C. Vernon Mason
C. Vernon Mason is an African-American lawyer from Tucker, Arkansas. Best known for his involvement in several high profile New York City cases in the 1980s, including the Bernhard Goetz, Howard Beach, and Tawana Brawley incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then...
were additionally charged with criminal trespass. All were held overnight in jail, which elicited further complaints of racial bias. Sharpton, Mitchell and Barron were convicted in February 1990, with Mitchell and Barron being jailed for 45 days. Barron spent another 25 days in jail, with Sharpton, for a protest related to the Tawana Brawley rape allegations.
In 2001, Barron was one of several black leaders who mounted pressure on federal officials to return the skeletons of buried Africans which had been exhumed for research.
East New York
In 1983, Barron moved to East New YorkEast New York, Brooklyn
East New York is a residential neighborhood located in the Eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 5...
, where he and his wife founded the Dynamics of Leadership Company. He spoke at many organizations and schools, teaching principles of negotiation, team-building, emotional intelligence, and leadership. He made over $100,000 a year for several years as a public speaker, and was paid by Harvard and Yale to speak on their campuses. In 1988, he published two children's books, Up You Mighty People, You Can Accomplish What You Will and Look For Me in the Whirlwind, written about the life of Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
.
Barron continued his political activism in East New York, and established himself as a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
activist in the community. He created a new local branch of the Black United Front called the East New York United Front. He and community allies successfully prevented the City of New York from erecting a wood-burning incinerator in that neighborhood. In 1996, they fought against the building of a natural gas generator. Barron's opposition to the incinerator "catapulted" him into politics, as he said, "I got sick and tired of being at City Council hearings and listening to people who were less intelligent than I was, who were less committed than I was." In 1997, Barron raised tensions with Council member Priscilla Wooten, calling her policies "backward" and criticizing her for not taking enough initiative with regard to community development in East New York. Barron was endorsed by David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
and Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, who said Wooten's support for Giuliani was a "cardinal sin" Barron ran against Wooten in 1997 but lost. Wooten made multiple legal charges to keep Barron off of the ballot, but her attempts were thrown out of court. He ran in 2001, when term limits prevented her from running again. He defeated Wooten's son, Donald, becoming the City Councillor of the 42nd District. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2009, each time with over 85% of the popular vote.
City Council member (2002-present)
Barron has introduced a number of bills relevant to the black community. He proposed creating a commission in New York City to study the effects of slavery on modern African Americans and use city funding for reparations. He also proposed a bill to support restitution from companies that have benefited from past slavery. Barron proposed bills to honor America's African American heritage, including bills to celebrate Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey Day, Frederick Douglas, Paul Robeson, and W.E.B. DuBois. He also drafted a bill that would ask George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to cancel of all debts African nations owe the U.S.
Clemency discussions
Barron has sought clemency on multiple occasions for individuals he considers "political prisoners".- In 2002, he asked that Anthony Bottom, Albert Washington, and Herman Bell be released. They were responsible for killing two police officers in 1971. The bill was hotly debated and rejected.
- In 2005, he asked that Assata ShakurAssata ShakurAssata Olugbala Shakur is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army...
, a fugitive wanted by the Federal government, be acquitted of charges for killing a state trooper in 1973. - In 2006, he asked that Marcus GarveyMarcus GarveyMarcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
be granted a posthumous pardon. - In 2009, he asked that the City of New York compensate the 5 men wrongly accused in the Central Park Jogger case
Appointment to Chair of Higher Education Committee
In 2002, he was appointed chair of the Higher Education Committee by the City Council's Speaker, Gifford Miller. Barron criticized the City University of New YorkCity University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
for raising admission standards through the use of entrance exams and the elimination of remedial courses; he said, "I think racism comes behind standards." Barron advanced the view that the university raised admission standards in order to restrict access to minority students. He argued that college-age students should not be denied admission to four-year colleges because of failures at the pre-college level. He further argued that CUNY's four-year colleges initiated open admission at a time when the student body was predominantly white, dramatically increasing the number of black students at the four-year colleges; however, when the City University ended open admissions the number of black students declined while changes in the proportions of other ethnic groups were minimal.
Greeting Mugabe at City Hall
On September 12, 2002, Barron was host to Zimbabwean president Robert MugabeRobert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
at New York City Hall, praising him as a liberator for black Africans in then-Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. Among the attendees of the event were about a dozen city councillors besides Barron, most of whom were Black or Latino.
Rivalry with Christine Quinn; stripping of Chairmanship
Since Christine Quinn's rise to the position of Speaker in the City Council, Barron has had a deep-seated rivalry with her. In January 2006, after being the only Council member to vote against the new Speaker, his seat in the chamber was changed to one next to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, whom he despised. Barron told reporters, "I don't think it was deliberate, but it does bother me to be placed so near Jefferson, who was a slaveholder, a hypocrite, and a rapist." When black Councilman Leroy ComrieLeroy Comrie
Leroy Comrie represents the New York City Council District 27, which comprises St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, and other neighborhoods within the borough of Queens....
did not vote for a bill to rename a street after black nationalist Sonny Carson, Barron's chief of staff, Viola Plummer, said she would thwart the member's run for Queens Borough President. Plummer told reporters, "If it takes an assassination of his ass, he will not be borough president in the borough where I live." She later said the "assassination" would only be political, but the threatening language led Speaker Quinn to fire Plummer. Plummer, with the support of Barron, filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Quinn to regain the chief-of-staff job.
In 2007, Barron and several activists defiantly renamed a park for Sonny Carson, despite the City Council rejecting the idea. Throughout 2008 and 2009, Barron held protests and took part in a lawsuit to re-instate term limits on the mayor and city councilmembers. He had pledged not to run for a third term in 2008, but changed his mind, winning a third term in 2009. In 2009, Barron intensified his rivalry with Quinn, and proposed a "Democratic Reform Movement" with City Councillor Tony Avella
Tony Avella
Tony Avella is an American politician and Democratic State Senator from the 11th New York Senate district. Avella was a member of the New York City Council from the borough of Queens from 2002 to 2009...
to shift power away from the Council Speaker to rank-and-file members. Barron and Avella proposed electing a black or Latino member as Speaker to replace Quinn. Barron challenged Quinn for the Speakership but was roundly defeated by a Council vote of 48 to 1. Subsequently, Quinn, who in the role of Speaker, determines Committee chairpersonships, organized a vote to remove Barron from his chairmanship of the Higher Education Committee. Barron lost 47-1. His nay vote was the only vote in his favor.
Barron said that the move to strip him of the committee chairmanship was "racist," and speculated that it was partly in response to a shouting match that had occurred about two months earlier between him and City University trustee Jeffrey Weisenfeld at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new building. At the ceremony, Barron had complained on the podium that he and some black attendees had been discriminated against in the seating and other ceremony-related arrangements. Weisenfeld shouted from the audience that Barron was being disruptive and the two then traded several insults. Barron called him a "sickening racist" and repeatedly told him to "shut up." Barron later told reporters that Wiesenfeld was "a right-wing, ignorant, racist fool.” In firing Barron, Quinn said that the Council needs chairpersons "that are unifying forces." In January 2010, Barron again ran against Quinn for the position of Speaker, and lost 50-1. During the vote, Barron's supporters shouted "sellout" and "Uncle Tom" to black Council members who voted for Quinn.
Opposition to school closings and Cathie Black
On February 3, 2011, Barron was among hundreds of angry parents and students who protested loudly during a hearing to close 12 schools classified as failing. On March 3, Barron celebrated with supporters as they learned that their protests had been successful, as Cathie BlackCathie Black
Cathleen Prunty "Cathie" Black is a former New York City Schools Chancellor. On April 7, 2011, Black stepped down from her position after 95 days on the job. Her appointment to replace longtime Chancellor Joel Klein was announced on November 9, 2010 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and became effective...
had reversed her decision and would keep PS 114 in Canarsie open.
Protest against Walmart
Also on February 3, 2011, the New York City Council held a hearing to discuss the implications of building a Walmart store in Brooklyn. One of the neighborhoods considered by Walmart was East New York. Barron called Walmart a "roving plantation" and said "There are no slaves in East New York. We will not be your slave workers." Barron interrupted a speech by Governor Cuomo on February 21, 2011, leading the crowd in chants of "tax the rich". He criticized Cuomo's budget proposals, which called for deep cuts statewide.Anti-Israel activism
Barron has been involved in activism against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Several of his statements have been explicitly anti-Israel, including a speech in which he said Israel should not be a state. Barron has also been called a Holocaust revisionist, as he hinted that he believed fewer than 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust. He has also said the true Semites are the blacks, not the Jews. When reflecting on the 1991 Crown Heights riots, Barron said, "Even when leaders moved in to quell the violence, they never dealt with the perception that Jews get preferential treatment in Crown Heights. They only make up 20 percent of the population, but they've always walked these streets as if they owned them, and acted as if they were the only ones that mattered." Barron criticized the Hasidic Jewish population, saying "There is a way of thinking that says black life is not as good as Jewish life. That way of thinking has real consequences. It puts a chip on the shoulders of those made to feel inferior and gives a false sense of entitlement to those placed on high. The fact that they [Jews] have their own ambulance service and volunteer police detail in the heart of the community speaks to that."In July 2009, Barron, former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, Dead Prez
Dead Prez
Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
rapper M1
M-1 (rapper)
Mutulu Olugbala also known by his stage name M-1 is a rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo Dead Prez along with his friend stic.man...
, and several rabbis were among 200 participants in the Viva Palestina relief convoy organized by United Kingdom member of parliament George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
. The convoy penetrated the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, which was ruled by Hamas, to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza's one and a half million inhabitants. Barron, McKinney, and 200 volunteers signed a letter addressed to President Obama, asking for his assistance in allowing them to proceed into Gaza.
Barron made statements comparing the situation in Gaza to concentration camps, prompting accusations of anti-semitism from Jewish leaders.
2005 New York City mayoral campaign
Charles Barron entered the race for mayor of New York city in 2005. According to the New York Post, he stated that one of his reasons for running was to redress an unfair balance of power between Whites and blacks in New York City: "White men have too much power in this city". He raised funds and campaigned but in early February 2005, dropped out and threw his support to the other African-American candidate in the election, C. Virginia Fields. His campaign funding amounted to about $49,000, far less than that of some of other Democratic candidates; Fernando FerrerFernando Ferrer
Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...
raised $1.2 million in 6 months and Gifford Miller
Gifford Miller
A. Gifford Miller is the former Speaker of the New York City Council, where he represented Council District 5. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the opportunity to run against incumbent Republican Mayor, Michael...
, $1 million in 6 months. Barron chose to endorse Fields rather than attempt a long-shot campaign. "I think two blacks in the race cancel each other out," he said, indicating a fear that the black vote would be divided and weakened by the choice of two candidates. Barron vowed that he would run again, saying "I will be back. I will be mayor of New York City before I leave this planet. It may be in 2009 or it may not be until 2013, but I will be mayor someday."
During the campaign, he criticized rival Democrat Fernando Ferrer for his comments regarding the Amadou Diallo
Amadou Diallo
Amadou Diallo was a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New York City who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots...
shooting. Barron said the comments brought "irreversible" damage to Ferrer's campaign and hoped Ferrer would drop out of the race and endorse Fields.
In 2006, Barron expressed his disaffection from the Democratic Party, disappointed by the large number of cross-endorsements Bloomberg received from Democrats. He said the Party was in need of a "political audit" and had "moved so far to the right that they might as well be called Republicrats." He told the Amsterdam News, "Black folks need to consider a mass exodus from the Democratic Party and build a new party of their own, because the Democrats have turned their backs on them on too many occasions. We should not give any party blind loyalty and support. Instead, we should really form a grassroots, Black-agenda-based third-party option."
2006 Congressional campaign
Charles Barron ran for a House seat representing the 10th district, which includes East New York. He ran against the 24-year incumbent, Democrat Edolphus Towns, and lost by 8 points. Although considered a serious contender for the 2008 election, he chose not to run. Barron told a reporter that he disliked the idea of spending "five days a week in Washington" when he would be better able to bring change for his constituents by staying in New York City.2010 Gubernatorial Campaign
On June 14, 2010, Barron announced that he was challenging Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew CuomoAndrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
because Barron was annoyed that Cuomo picked Rochester mayor Robert Duffy, instead of an African-American politician, for the position of Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
. Barron created the New York Democratic Freedom Party
Freedom Party of New York
The Freedom Party of New York is a name given to two separate political parties that existed only in the state of New York. The first, created by allies of would-be Governor George Pataki, gained ballot access in the 1994 gubernatorial election under the name "Tax Cut Now Party," and gained the...
in protest of Cuomo's all-White ticket
Ticket (election)
A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in the U.S., the candidates for President and Vice President run on the same "ticket", because they are elected together on a single ballot question rather than separately.A ticket can also...
. When speaking about Cuomo, Barron said, "He’s done nothing to deserve our support; he’s hurt the black community. Remember he was with his father, when his father built more prisons than any other governor in the history of New York State. Andrew was with daddy and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree...Andrew’s arrogant, he’s just like his father." Barron's Freedom Party needed 15,000 petition signatures in order to be on the November 2, 2010 ballot, and his campaign collected 43,000. A rival City Councilman, Lewis Fidler
Lewis Fidler
Lewis A. Fidler is a New York City Councilman. In January 2002, he began his first term as Councilman for the 46th District in New York City, which includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Georgetown, Flatlands, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, Gerritsen Beach, Madison...
, said the Party was "morally wrong" for being race-based, and threatened to challenge the signature count in court. Barron countered, saying the Party was "about blacks and Latinos voting for their dignity" and accused Fidler of being a "puppet" to Cuomo. Barron expressed resentment towards the Democratic Party, saying it "has taken us for granted. It's time for us to be for us. It's time for us to be a self-determining people." Barron aimed to get 50,000 votes in the governor's race, enough to gain ballot access for his Freedom Party. He finished in second-to-last place, drawing 24,560 votes. Outside of New York City, Barron drew fewer than 5,000 votes out of over 3,000,000 cast.
Police brutality
Barron has sided with black leaders in supporting victims of police brutality, including Amadou DialloAmadou Diallo
Amadou Diallo was a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New York City who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots...
. He has said that crime is not the fault of the black community, but rather, is a consequence of the community's economic plight. Barron said that crime could only be reduced by economic opportunities and advancement, and without economic opportunities, "every black community is a powder keg."
In response to the NYPD shooting of three individuals—including the fatal shooting of a 23 year-old prospective bridegroom, Sean Bell outside of a Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
strip club in 2006, Barron made a number of controversial statements, including one that implied that members of Bell's community would be justified in exercising non-peaceful or violent methods in response to his death. Barron has publicly stated that "we don't shoot anybody, they shoot us."
Barron's name was floated with death threats on NYPD Rant, an internet forum, during 2007. Barron and the 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement called for a prompt investigation, and security detail was increased.
Reparations for slavery
Barron has spoken passionately on the issue of reparations for slaveryReparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery is a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over several centuries...
. In 2002, Barron received reprimands for a comment he made at a reparations rally:
- "I want to go up to the closest white person and say, ‘You can’t understand this, it’s a black thing’ and then slap him, just for my mental health."
As Councilor, he drafted a bill in the Council to establish a commission towards reparations, and has spoken to black audiences on many occasions urging them not to forget America owes reparations to African Americans.
Mandated study of African-American history
Barron believes that United States history is not accurately taught in schools, and has expressed interest in promoting African American historyAfrican American history
African-American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of captive Africans held in the United States from 1619 to 1865...
throughout the New York City public school system. He has drafted legislation mandating the teaching of African-American history in required school curriculum. He has used his position as Councilman to propose renaming buildings and schools as well as decorating them with mementos of black history. He wishes to publicize more black history, including erecting portraits of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, as important leaders in American history. In Baron's view, many of the current monuments erected to the founding fathers subtly represent slavery. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, for example, were slave owners whom he feels are remembered as false liberators because they still supported the institution of slavery.
Immigration
Barron, appearing on the television program The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, said the entire "immigration problem" is really a Black-White issue. He argued that Germans, Jews, Poles, Greeks, and Italians who immigrated to the United States during the late 19th century were welcomed because of the color of their skin, but now, "All of a sudden when the complexion of immigration changes, now it's 'these people'." He rejected rebuttals from host Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
on the grounds that the original European immigrants had received preferential treatment, stating "They had enough black people here already that were skilled and couldn't get the jobs that your people [referring to European-Americans] were able to get."
O'Reilly accused Barron of trying to "let everyone into the country" simply "to change the complexion of America". Many viewers responded to this episode, upset that Barron would not concede that White immigrants indeed were discriminated against as well.
He has advocated voting for non-citizens and amnesty for illegal immigrants ("don't criminalize, legalize").
Pledge of Allegiance
Barron says he does not salute the flag or believe in the Pledge of AllegiancePledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
. Barron holds the view that saying the pledge is "a lie" that states equality and justice for all, which is not true for American blacks. In 2004, he strongly objected to a move by the City Council that would begin each meeting with a voluntary Pledge.
Opposition to Capitalism
Barron has criticized capitalism, calling it a "deeply-rooted illness" within America. Barron wrote a scathing editorial on the $700 billion bailout packageFederal Reserve responses to the subprime crisis
The U.S. central banking system, the Federal Reserve, in partnership with central banks around the world, took several steps to address the subprime mortgage crisis...
in 2008, calling it the "biggest welfare check in the history of the planet". He said it was "a contradiction of capitalism" to give money to Wall Street during a slump while it had said for years that there was "no money for the people."
Barron confronted gentrification of New York, saying "Housing policies are the new racism! That's the new Jim Crowism-pricing you out of housing!"
Barron wrote an editorial praising Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
for his work towards a United States of Africa
United States of Africa
The United States of Africa is a proposed name for the concept of a federation of some or all of the 55 sovereign states of Africa.Former Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was the 2009 Chairperson of the African Union , advanced the idea of a United States of Africa at two regional African...
. He called Barack Obama's bombing of Libya a "racist imperialist" move, suggesting that Obama wanted to control Libyan oil. He criticized NATO's killing of Gaddafi's son and grandchildren, saying the United States and NATO were on a mission to assassinate him.
Barron held a mortgage woes forum in 2007 to address concerns from residents who were in danger of house foreclosure. Barron said the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
of 2007 predominantly hurt African-Americans, who were lied to by predatory business practices.
In 2009, Barron put pressure on owners of Obama Fried Chicken to change their store name, saying it exploited black stereotypes.
On September 27, 2011, which was Day 11
Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
The following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street which began on Saturday, September 17, 2011 as an occupation of Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and is an ongoing demonstration....
of the Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...
event, Barron visited and spoke to the demonstrators, expressing his support.