Some of you might be surprised that Democratic heavy Harlem has it’s own share of G.O.P.s. Don’t blame it on the “newcomers,” you just might be surprised who the members are. The HRC plans to come out and represent the “black elephants” at the Apollo tonight for the debate. While visiting the HipHopReplican I came across the following information:
The Harlem Republican Club is the official Republican District Club for the 70th Assembly District, covering historic Central Harlem and parts of Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, and Sugar Hill. The Harlem Republican Club was created in 2002 to create a permanent and visible Republican presence in the Harlem community.
According to the New York Beacon, in 2002 more than a dozen Harlem Republican leaders announced the revival of The Harlem Republican Club, a year-round, grassroots political headquarters that was first established in 1886 and operated until the late 1930′s, according to the best available records. The new club will serve as the central gathering place for several uptown Republican clubs, which have worked independently of one another for several years. The announcement was made at a fundraising for the club hosted by Harlem civic leaders.
The new club’s members worked tirelessly that year to help reelect Governor George Pataki and look forward to carrying that energy forward for many other Republican campaigns in the future.
The Harlem Republican Club celebrates the history of Blacks and the Republican Party and its proud and storied past. Through very turbulent times, Republicans not only abolished slavery in America but established that Blacks have the right to vote. In fact, many Black Republicans held office and were influential in state legislatures.
In 1869, the first to enter the US Congress were members of the Republican Party, establishing a trend that was not broken until 1935 when the first Black Democrat was elected to Congress.
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divine1906
October 6, 2008
As a life long registered Democrat, I welcome the HRC to the community. The truth is there have been a number of active Black Republicans in Harlem for years (bothe public & closeted) like Fred Brown, Joe Holland, Helen Daniels, Will Brown, Claude Sharrieff-Frazier & Willie Walker.
Unlike many, I actually believe it’s in the best interest of the commuinty if we have folks active in both parties.
Now whether the people listed above have the right stuff to create a real political alternative to Democratic dominance in Harlem is another question.