9781422277751

Sharpton is one of the most divisive public figures in modern America. Many people feel he takes cases only for the publicity they bring him, while other opponents say he uses his power as an African-American leader to force corporations into consulting contracts or give donations to his organizations to avoid racial protests. His supporters tend to be less vocal, yet they participate in marches he organizes seemingly on amoment’s notice. In almost every case in which he has been involved, the victim’s family has asked for his help. While the preacher is certainly one of America’s foremost civil rights leaders, his career is muchmore than just marches and protests. He has run for president and for the U.S. Senate, and hosts a two-hour radio show daily. He has also been arrested numerous times, nearly all on disorderly conduct charges, held a hunger strike, and was even stabbed once during a march he organized. He has visited some of the world’s poorest countries, and been a guest at the White House several times. He has written two autobiographies, been featured on 60 Minutes and numerous national television shows, and profiled inmagazines too numerous to count. Typing his name into Google’s search engine brings back over 3.2million hits in less than half a second. There is one exercise that shows how hard it can be to summarize the career of the Reverend Al Sharpton. Draw up a short list of his opponents and his supporters. Detractors include the Reverend Jesse Jackson; former New York City Mayor Ed Koch; former President Bill Clinton; former New York Governor Mario Cuomo; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; founder of the Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa; former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgantheau; and former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Supporters include Michael Jackson, Jesse Jackson, Ed Koch, Newt Gingrich, James Brown, former Archbishop of New York Cardinal John O’Connor, Howard Stern, and actress Susan Sarandon. As the lists clearly show, Sharpton is at times at odds with the same people who later support his actions. Although Sharpton is a Democrat and has run for

CH A P T E R 1 : A LwAy S Ou T F R ON T

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