Coordinates | 50°24′28″N19°55′50″N |
---|---|
name | Al Sharpton |
residence | New York, NY |
birth name | Alfred Charles Sharpton, Jr. |
birth date | October 03, 1954 |
birth place | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
occupation | Baptist minister, civil rights/social justice activist, radio and television talk show host |
party | Democratic |
religion | Baptist |
spouse | Kathy Jordan |
weight | }} |
Sharpton's supporters praise "his ability and willingness to defy the power structure that is seen as the cause of their suffering" and consider him "a man who is willing to tell it like it is". Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, a one-time foe, said that Sharpton deserves the respect he enjoys among African Americans: "He is willing to go to jail for them, and he is there when they need him."
His critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part, for the deterioration of race relations". Sociologist Orlando Patterson has referred to him as a racial arsonist, while liberal columnist Derrick Z. Jackson has called him the black equivalent of Richard Nixon and Pat Robertson. Sharpton sees much of the criticism as a sign of his effectiveness. "In many ways, what they consider criticism is complimenting my job," he said. "An activist’s job is to make public civil rights issues until there can be a climate for change."
In 1963, Sharpton's father left his wife to have a relationship with Sharpton's half-sister. Ada Sharpton took a job as a maid, but her income was so low that the family qualified for welfare and had to move from middle class Hollis, Queens, to the public housing projects in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Sharpton graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn, and attended Brooklyn College, dropping out after two years in 1975. He became a tour manager for James Brown in 1971.
In 1971, Sharpton founded the National Youth Movement to raise resources for impoverished youth.
Sharpton and other civil rights leaders said Goetz's actions were racist and requested a federal civil rights investigation. A federal investigation concluded the shooting was due to an attempted robbery and not race.
A week later, on December 27, Sharpton led 1,200 demonstrators on a march through the streets of Howard Beach. Residents of the neighborhood, who were overwhelmingly white, screamed racial epithets at the protesters, who were largely black. Sharpton's role in the case, which led to the appointment of a special prosecutor by New York Governor Mario Cuomo after the two surviving victims refused to co-operate with the Queens district attorney, helped propel him to national prominence.
In the weeks following the assault and murder, Sharpton led several marches through Bensonhurst. The first protest, just days after the incident, was greeted by neighborhood residents shouting "Niggers go home" and holding watermelons to mock the demonstrators.
Sharpton also threatened that Hawkins' three companions would not cooperate with prosecutor Elizabeth Holtzman unless her office agreed to hire more black attorneys. In the end, they cooperated.
In May 1990, when one of the two leaders of the mob was acquitted of the most serious charges brought against him, Sharpton led another protest through Bensonhurst. In January 1991, when other members of the gang were given light sentences, Sharpton planned another march for January 12, 1991. Before that demonstration began, neighborhood resident Michael Riccardi tried to kill Sharpton by stabbing him in the chest. Sharpton recovered from his wounds, and later asked the judge for leniency when Riccardi was sentenced.
On December 8, 1995, Roland J. Smith Jr., one of the protesters, entered Harari's store with a gun and flammable liquid, shot several customers and set the store on fire. The gunman fatally shot himself, and seven store employees died of smoke inhalation. Fire Department officials discovered that the store's sprinkler had been shut down, in violation of the local fire code. Sharpton claimed that the perpetrator was an open critic of himself and his nonviolent tactics. Sharpton later expressed regret for making the racial remark, "white interloper," and denied responsibility for inflaming or provoking the violence.
On May 7, 2008, in response to the acquittals of the officers, Sharpton co-ordinated peaceful protests at major transportation centers in New York City, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Queensboro Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, the Holland Tunnel, and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Sharpton and about 200 others were arrested.
At his press conference Sharpton said that any violent act toward a woman is inexcusable but he felt that the accused youths were being treated unfairly because they were black. Sharpton contrasted the treatment of the suspects, who remain in jail, with white suspects involved in a gang rape who were released after posting bond.
Sharpton is leading a grassroots movement to eliminate homophobia within the Black church.
In response, a representative for Romney told reporters that "bigotry toward anyone because of their beliefs is unacceptable." The Catholic League compared Sharpton to Don Imus, and said that his remarks "should finish his career".
On May 9, during an interview on Paula Zahn NOW, Sharpton said that his views on Mormonism were based on the "Mormon Church's traditionally racist views regarding blacks" and its interpretation of the so-called "Curse of Ham". On May 10, Sharpton called two apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized to them for his remarks and asked to meet with them. A spokesman for the Church confirmed that Sharpton had called and said that "we appreciate it very much, Rev. Sharpton's call, and we consider the matter closed." He also apologized to "any member of the Mormon church" who was offended by his comments. Later that month, Sharpton went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he met with Elder M. Russell Ballard, a leader of the Church, and Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Church's Presidency of the Seventy.
Attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason joined Sharpton in support of Brawley. A grand jury was convened; after seven months of examining police and medical records, the jury determined that Brawley had fabricated her story. Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason accused the Dutchess County prosecutor, Steven Pagones, of racism and of being one of the perpetrators of the alleged abduction and rape. The three were successfully sued for slander and ordered to pay $345,000 in damages, the jury finding Sharpton liable for making seven defamatory statements about Pagones, Maddox for two, and Mason for one. Sharpton refused to pay his share of the damages; it was later paid by a number of black business leaders.
In 2007, Sharpton said he would have accepted the case the same as he does today. The only difference would be he would not have made it so personal with Pagones, but he still felt Brawley had a good case to go to trial. "I disagreed with the grand jury on Brawley," said Sharpton in an interview. "I believed there was enough evidence to go to trial. Grand jury said there wasn’t. Okay, fine. Do I have a right to disagree with the grand jury? Many Americans believe O.J. Simpson was guilty. A jury said he wasn’t. So I have as much right to question a jury as they do. Does it make somebody a racist? No! They just disagreed with the jury. So did I."
Sharpton is a member of Phi Beta Sigma.
During 2007, Sharpton participated in a public debate with Christopher Hitchens, who is an atheist, and Sharpton defended his religious faith and his belief in the existence of God.
Thurmond was notable as the longest serving Senator (at the time of his death) who was a major advocate of racial segregation during the middle of the twentieth century. Thurmond's illegitimate daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, stated she would welcome Sharpton to the family if a DNA test shows he is a relative. In an interview, Sharpton said he has no plans for the DNA test to see if he is related.
The Sharpton family name originated with Coleman Sharpton's previous slave-owner, who was named Alexander Sharpton.
On June 19, 2008, the New York Post reported that the Internal Revenue Service had sent subpoenas to several corporations that had donated to Sharpton's National Action Network. In 2007 New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began investigating the National Action Network, because it failed to make proper financial reports, as required for non-profits. According to the Post, several major corporations, including Anheuser-Busch and Colgate-Palmolive, have donated thousands of dollars to the National Action Network. The Post asserted that the donations were made to prevent boycotts or rallies by the National Action Network.
Sharpton countered the investigative actions with a charge that they reflected a political agenda by United States agencies.
On September 29, 2010, Robert Snell of the Detroit News reported that the Internal Revenue Service had filed a notice of federal tax lien against Sharpton in New York City in the amount of over $538,000. Sharpton's lawyer asserts that the notice of federal tax lien relates to Sharpton's year 2009 federal income tax return, the due date of which has been extended to October 15, 2010, according to the lawyer. However, the Snell report states that the lien relates to taxes assessed during 2009.
On January 5, 2003, Sharpton announced his candidacy for the 2004 presidential election as a member of the Democratic Party.
On March 15, 2004, Sharpton announced his endorsement of leading Democratic candidate John Kerry.
On December 15, 2005, Sharpton agreed to repay $100,000 in public funds he received from the federal government for his 2004 Presidential campaign. The repayment was required because Sharpton had exceeded federal limits on personal expenditures for his campaign. At that time his most recent Federal Election Commission filings (from January 1, 2005) stated that Sharpton's campaign still had debts of $479,050 and owed Sharpton himself $145,146 for an item listed as "Fundraising Letter Preparation — Kinko's."
In 2009 the Federal Election Commission announced it had levied a fine of $285,000 against Sharpton's 2004 presidential campaign for breaking campaign finance rules during his presidential campaign.
On April 2, 2007, Sharpton announced that he would not enter the 2008 presidential race. "I am not going to run," he said.
During the 2005 Tony Awards, Sharpton appeared in a number put on by the cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Since June 29, 2011, Sharpton became a regular guest host for MSNBC's The Ed Show, filling in for host Ed Schultz. This relationship is similar to regular fill-in positions on MSNBC talk shows for other personalities, such as Rachel Maddow (who served as a regular fill-in for Keith Olbermann until she gained her own series in 2009) and Chris Hayes (who regularly fills-in for both Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell on their respective series). In early July, Sharpton began as host of the 6 p.m. hour slot on MSNBC Live, serving as the interim replacement for former host Cenk Uygur. On August 23, he became the official host of PoliticsNation, the news show scheduled for the 6 pm slot, which premeiered on August 29.
Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:African American United States presidential candidates Category:African American religious leaders Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American film actors Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Baptist ministers from the United States Category:Brooklyn College alumni Category:Civil disobedience Category:New York Democrats Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Englewood, New Jersey Category:People from Queens Category:Samuel J. Tilden High School alumni Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United States presidential candidates, 2004
de:Al Sharpton es:Al Sharpton fr:Al Sharpton hr:Al Sharpton it:Al Sharpton nl:Al Sharpton no:Al Sharpton pl:Al Sharpton pt:Al Sharpton sh:Al Sharpton fi:Al Sharpton sv:Al Sharpton yi:על שארפטאןThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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