Minister Sees Salvation of Harlem in Boycott

TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, New York Times

For the past several months, elegantly dressed men and women have been handing out thousands of postcards to passers-by on the streets of Harlem. It is part of a campaign to boycott neighborhood shops to protest gentrification. While the boycott itself has had little impact, the man behind it, an ex-convict turned minister named James D. Manning, has been increasingly difficult for some to ignore.

Mr. Manning, 61, has become an annoyance not only to shopkeepers, but to Harlem’s political, cultural and religious leaders as well. His goal is to force businesses to close — including those owned by blacks — causing the neighborhood’s economic rebirth to stall and, therefore, property values to decline. He has also called for a general rent strike.

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