Charles Rangel, former Harlem congressman, dies aged 94

Longtime New York lawmaker was first Black chair of House ways and means committee and fierce opponent of Iraq war

Former US congressman Charles Rangel of New York, an outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat who spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill and was a founding member of the Congressional Black caucus, died on Monday at the age of 94.

His family confirmed the death in a statement provided by City College of New York spokesperson Michelle Stent. He died at a hospital in New York, Stent said.