Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr.is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, television/radio talk show host and a trusted White House adviser who, according to 60 Minutes, has become President Barack Obama's "go-to black leader." In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election. He hosts his own radio talk show, Keepin' It Real, and he makes regular guest appearances on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. In 2011, he was named the host of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCivil Rights Leader
Date of Birth3 October 1954
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Dr. King used Gandhi's commitment to non-violence and to passive resistance.
Dr. King's general principles are universal. But the things he confronted took place in another era.
I don't think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I'm being effective, because I'm not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change.
It seems some have chosen to ignore or have simply forgotten the big-picture vision promoted by Dr. King and his kin.
The civil rights movement and the peace movement was not made from big names ... and I wanted to come on the anniversary with ordinary people that are doing what I think Dr. King would have wanted us to do today.
Not only are we now getting convictions of police on misconduct, but actually for the conspiracy. This is a real blow to the blue wall of silence.
I'm not interested in being Archie Bunker, I'm looking forward to becoming George Bush.
If O.J. had been accused of killing his black wife, you would not have seen the same passion stirred up.
It is the responsibility of everybody to stand up against people that are biased and racist and see them for the cowards that they are.
It seemed like what he ignored was the weapons of mass destruction in America -- broken levees in New Orleans are weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Bush.
We're going to use this Amadou Diallo case to stop this in these United States once and for all. Just like we needed the federal government to come into Alabama and Mississippi 30 years ago, we need the federal government to come into New York to deal with the police today.
We want arrests. We want indictments. We want prosecution.
We want all of these policeman to face justice.
Brown became like a father figure to me who insisted I live the life of a monk, let alone a minister. I had to stay in the hotel he stayed in, stay in my room, and he would almost select my girlfriends. He was very adamant that he had promised my mother that I would not go wayward on the road, and he enforced it. So even though I knew the entertainment world, I was not of the entertainment world -- and not by any choice of my own. He promised my mother that he'd make sure I was never on drugs, that I never lost my head, and that he'd take care of me himself. And he did.