AL SHARPTON
Name: Al Sharpton
Born: 3 October 1954 Brooklyn, New York
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist
minister, political and civil rights/social justice activist, and radio talk
show host. In 2004, Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination
for the U.S. presidential election.
Sharpton hosts his own radio talk show, Keepin It Real and makes regular
guest appearances on The O'Reilly Factor and MSNBC.
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". Donna Wilson, host of a talk radio
program on WWRL in New York City, said of him that "Al Sharpton was born to lead".
Sharpton's critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part,
for the deterioration of race relations". Conservative David Horowitz has
called Sharpton an "anti-Semitic racist", sociologist Orlando Patterson has
referred to him as a racial arsonist, and liberal newspaper 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," said Sharpton. "An
activist's job is to make public civil rights issues until there can be a
climate for change. So when people get angry at me for raising these issues and
making them public, well, that's my job! That’s what I'm supposed to do. If I
could not get the public's attention on an issue, then I'm not a good activist."
Name: Al Sharpton
Born: 3 October 1954 Brooklyn, New York
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist
minister, political and civil rights/social justice activist, and radio talk
show host. In 2004, Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination
for the U.S. presidential election.
Sharpton hosts his own radio talk show, Keepin It Real and makes regular
guest appearances on The O'Reilly Factor and MSNBC.
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". Donna Wilson, host of a talk radio
program on WWRL in New York City, said of him that "Al Sharpton was born to lead".
Sharpton's critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part,
for the deterioration of race relations". Conservative David Horowitz has
called Sharpton an "anti-Semitic racist", sociologist Orlando Patterson has
referred to him as a racial arsonist, and liberal newspaper 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," said Sharpton. "An
activist's job is to make public civil rights issues until there can be a
climate for change. So when people get angry at me for raising these issues and
making them public, well, that's my job! That’s what I'm supposed to do. If I
could not get the public's attention on an issue, then I'm not a good activist."