UPTOWNflavor

Today’s am New York cover story is titled “Hope in Harlem.”  The story was a recycled version of the other pieces that we’ve been watching on CNN and reading in the New York Times.  To sum it up, folks in Harlem are excited about the prospect of a president that looks like the majority of people in their community.

Sadly, the follow up story is titled “Despite scandal, Rangel appears headed to victory.”  Say what?  How can the paper make that type of prediction when he has three – count them – three opponents running against him (the third opponent is running on the Socialist Workers ticket)?  As I read on, the question was answered with a line that made my cheeks burn and my head shake in disbelief.  The reporter conducted man on the street interviews of random Harlem residents.  One of the respondents answered a question about the Rangel apartment scandal as follows:

“To a certain degree, I think it will hurt him,” said Ivy, a Harlem resident who did not give her last name. “But I think he’s going to get re-elected. Is anyone running against him?”

Insert the sound of a needle scratching over a vinyl record here.  Did she really just ask if anyone was running against him?  My mind immediately went back to the “prank” played by The Howard Stern Show the other week that highlighted how uninformed many Harlemites are about the ballot issues and candidates.   What makes this even sadder is the fact that the people at the bottom of rung, so to speak, should be the most informed about the politicians they are putting into office. Despite all of the scandals, people never bothered to find out if there was someone else running for Rangel’s seat in Congress.  They simply took the ‘elderly’ statesman at his word that, “I don’t have any opponents.“  Well, he does now, and the fact that Harlemites will be entering the poll booth to either blindly vote down party lines or only vote for the names that they recognize is dangerous and irresponsible.

So I wonder, is there hope for Harlem?  If people didn’t the take the time to become educated about the political process this year, then when?

Related: Anxious Harlem braces for election [CBS] :: Hope or Hype [MSNBC]

D.Bell is the creator of UPTOWNflavor.com.  U.F. will be offering extensive coverage of the election over the course of the next 48 hours.  If you have a Harlem related tidbit or photos, please send them to uptownflavor@gmail.com.