As New York Democratic Primary Approaches, Harlem is Split Between Obama and Clinton

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Adam Clayton Powell Jr. memorial statue in Harlem, West 125th street. Photo by Rohma Abbas.

By Rohma Abbas

With New York’s Democratic primary election a week away, Harlem residents and local leadership alike are torn between frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Both candidates have won endorsements from Harlem’s political elite. Former mayor David N. Dinkins and Rep. Charles Rangel have endorsed Clinton. Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV and State Sen. Bill Perkins are Obama supporters.

Perkins said the split among the politicians doesn’t reflect the feelings of their constituents. He thinks that Harlem will vote in favor of Obama. “Most of the leadership is with Hillary, with the exception of me, and the constituents are with Obama,” he said.

But whether Sen. Perkins’ statement truly represents what all of Harlem is feeling is questionable. Jacques Mutombo, one of two owners of the South Beach Restaurant on 124th Street and Lenox Avenue, supports Clinton. He noted the crowd when Obama spoke at the Apollo Theater on Nov. 29.

“That night the line was white. All white,” Mutombo said. “When he was here, I didn’t see nobody from the neighborhood. I didn’t see nobody who eats here come look for Obama.”

Obama and Clinton both have advantages in the fight to win the Harlem vote. Obama is a black candidate that represents a fresh face for a community that is 67 percent African-American. Clinton has had longtime support from the residents, for both her husband’s legacy and her own ties to the black community. She has won backing from influential black leaders such as Robert Johnson, founder of BET and Rev. Calvin O. Butts, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist church.

Rep. Charles Rangel, the most prominent Harlem politician, walks a fine line between the two-- endorsing Clinton while admitting Obama’s strong points. “Sen. Barack Obama is certainly a candidate who makes us proud, as an American and as an African American,” said a statement issued by the congressman’s press secretary. “I am both impressed and inspired by his eloquence and his vision for where our party and our country need to go. However, vision alone does not make the best President.”

And those who support Obama also have kind words for Clinton. “Obama is a breath of fresh air,” said Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV from Harlem, son of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. who was the first black congressman from New York. “He speaks of a change people in Harlem thirst for.” But, he added, “Obviously, we like them both.”

Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute predicted that Obama would win Harlem. “Obama is a mainstream candidate that anybody could take pride in—a strong one, a potential winner,” Carroll said.

Robert Shapiro, a political scientist at Columbia University, also said that he thinks Obama will win. But he also added that if Harlem residents had the choice, they would rather not have to choose. “In the importance of having a viable African candidate, I think it would be Obama,” he said. “But if Clinton got the nomination, I think they’d want to have a Clinton-Obama ticket.”

Indeed that is what James Dingle’s customers are saying at Sho Nuff Unisex, a barbershop on 124th street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. “A lot of people say they’d like to see Hillary and Obama team up together,” he said.

Next to the Lenox Lounge on 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd., James Sammual stood atop a doorstep, peering at the people walking by. Dangling an unlit cigarette between his fingers, he explained that he remains wary about the election. “A person can tell you what you feel, but most politicians change that when they get to office,” he said. “Right now, I gotta listen first, and then I gotta make my decision.”

Regardless of endorsement, it is clear that for Harlem leaders, choosing between the two candidates is not easy. Even Mutombo, the restaurateur who supports Clinton, said the emotional pull in both directions is very strong. “I think they’re all for Hillary,” Mutombo said of the local political leaders, “but I think deep down they’re very proud to see a black guy up there."