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
I think that any time you look at the fact that boycotts have historically led to change, whatever temporary inconvenience there may be, it in the long run leads toward, in my opinion, a better change for everybody.
I think that you can't choose leadership. You have to deal with the leadership that the people respond to.
My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order.
I think drugs affect poor people and people of color more than anyone.
I think first of all, the United States has got to adopt a policy of befriending and creating allies around the world...
It was better walk with dignity than ride in shame. A lot of people in Cincinnati are saying, "Rather than have the continual problems of police brutality and economic disparity, I'm willing to make some sacrifices." And I think that they ought to be respected for doing that.
People working at the arenas are not just depending on one or two concerts. I think it gives a symbolic boost, as well as those shows do bring down some monetary investments in the city.
I think you don't support people based on one or two cases of situations. You deal with their balance over the long run.
I think that whoever is the attorney general, you don't want them to be as a yes person for any particular constituency.
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.
Rosa Parks is in history because she made this nation deal with changing the laws and policies of this nation unlike anybody else.