Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Obama's Harlem Visit Insults Some, Excites More
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 29, 2011
Modified Apr 6, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 29, 2011
Modified Apr 6, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Fresh from explaining what the U.S. is doing in Libya last night President Obama is in town today, messing with traffic and attending a $30,800-a-head DNC fundraising dinner at Red Rooster in Harlem with the likes of former mayor David Dinkins and Rep. Charles Rangel (and more). And apparently not everyone is happy about it—because people are always happy with everything presidents do, right?
DNAinfo went and found at least one person who is not amused that Obama has chosen Harlem for his dinner. "There's an obscenity about coming to Harlem where the annual median income is $25,000 per year, $5,000 less that the $30,000 per dinner plate fundraiser" Nellie Bailey, whose group Harlem Fight Back Against Wars At Home and Abroad plans to protest the dinner, told the website.
"Harlem is symbolic for President Obama. There is no other black community that resonates domestically and internationally. But to come to Harlem on the heels of a brutal shock and awe campaign against an African country is one of political expediency," she continued (ignoring the fact that the dinner was being planned before the situation in Libya escalated). "It is a disrespect and a slap in Harlem's face."
But absolutely not everyone agrees with Bailey, what with all those people planning on hanging outside the restaurant to bottleneck. "I want to catch his eye," Harlemite Teda Davis, 66, told the Daily News today, describing the presidential visit as "larger than life." Added another resident, "It would be cool to see him, even a little sighting would be cool."
Tagged
barack obama
charles rangel
david dinkins
harlem
red rooster
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .