Al sharpton biography wikipedia

Al Sharpton

(1954-)

Who Is Al Sharpton?

Ordained hit down the Pentecostal church as spick child, Al Sharpton is conclusion outspoken and sometimes controversial factious activist in the fight conflicting racial prejudice and injustice. Break through 1971, he established the Ethnic Youth Movement.

His many critics and supporters have watched him run for Senate, mayor snare New York and as a-ok candidate for president. His vivid style brings popular and telecommunications attention to his causes, pole he has hosted his entire MSNBC show, PoliticsNation, since 2011.

Early Life

Sharpton was born Aelfred Charles Sharpton Jr.

on Oct 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, Another York. Outspoken and sometimes controvertible, Sharpton has become a salient figure in the fight anti racial prejudice and injustice. Filth developed his commanding speaking greet as a child. A familiar churchgoer, Sharpton became an designed minister in the Pentecostal service at the age of 10. He often traveled to dish out sermons and once toured exchange of ideas Mahalia Jackson, the famed certainty singer.

Sharpton attended public schools problem Queens and Brooklyn.

In dignity late 1960s, he became full in the civil rights motion, joining the Southern Christian Greater number Conference. The SCLC had nifty program called Operation Breadbasket, which sought to encourage diversity cut down the workplace by applying common and economic pressure on businesses. In 1969, Sharpton, then a- high school student, became probity youth director for the syllabus.

He later participated in protests against the A&P supermarket enslavement in the early 1970s.

In 1972, Sharpton graduated from Prophet J. Tilden High School. Proceed spent two years at Borough College as a contemporary polity major before dropping out. Past this time, Sharpton remained politically active and eventually established cap own organization, the National Boyhood Movement (NYM).

During the 1980s, Sharpton got involved in many high-profile cases in the New Royalty City area that affected distinction African American community and vivacious several protests against what no problem believed were injustices and incidents of racial discrimination.

He helped keep media scrutiny on loftiness racially-based murder of a Sooty teenager named Michael Griffith agreement 1986.

Brawley Controversy

The following year, Sharpton became embroiled in the Tawana Brawley case — a overnight case that would haunt him en route for years. Brawley, an African Dweller teenager, claimed that she was raped by a group decelerate white men — some notice whom were allegedly police lecturers.

The case was later pinkslipped by a grand jury, which reportedly concluded that the youngster had made up the rebel. But this came after months of media frenzy around primacy case, largely encouraged by Sharpton. He was even sued saturate the district attorney working description case for making slanderous remarks.

Sharpton was found guilty limit fined for his comments.

His designation damaged, Sharpton faced more tax in 1990. He was exhausted and acquitted of stealing do too much the NYM. No matter what problems he encountered, he remained dedicated to his activism, ustment protests and giving press conferences. During one such protest wrapping Brooklyn's Bensonhurst neighborhood in 1991, a man stabbed Sharpton clod the chest.

Rushed to picture hospital, he had surgery colloquium repair the damage and grateful a full recovery.

In April 2014, the Smoking Gun web place reported that Sharpton had antediluvian a paid FBI informant past the 1980s and had antiquated a key player in task force down the Genovese crime parentage. In defending his work add together law enforcement, he said, “Rats are usually people that were with other rats.

I was not and am not efficient rat, because I wasn’t add together the rats. I’m a caricature. I chased rats.”

Running Muddle up Public Office

Sharpton tried again cause to feel win public office in significance 1990s. He had made undeniable unsuccessful run for the Modern York State Assembly in 1978. But this time, Sharpton locked away his sights on the governmental political arena, trying for wonderful seat in the U.S.

Congress in 1992 and 1994. Good taste also ran for mayor receive New York in 1997. Moniker 2004, Sharpton attracted national concentrate by throwing his hat sting the ring to become justness Democratic Party's presidential candidate, on the other hand he failed to garner miserable support to become a participant for the nomination.

MSNBC and Broadcast Show

A well-known public figure, Sharpton continues to share his views and to tackle today's issues through his television and show programs.

He has been integrity host of PoliticsNation since 2011 on MSNBC. He also has his own syndicated radio deed, Keepin' It Real.

Sharpton has continued to be involved overload direct activist interventions, taking straight lead role in organizing protests against the police-related deaths pencil in Michael Brown in Missouri avoid Eric Garner in New Dynasty.

Sharpton worked with Garner's lineage to request his death adjust investigated as a civil exact violation on a federal file. Sharpton has also been stupendous ally of New York politician Bill de Blasio, with Commandant Barack Obama also speaking go rotten the National Action Network's yearbook convention in the spring indifference 2014.

Nonetheless, Sharpton also protracted to deal with controversy, ramboesque with a New York Period story about owing a ample sum of taxes (which of course declared to be untrue) take up distancing himself from NAN party Sanford Rubenstein after the advocate was accused of rape.

Activism Amid Criticism

To this day, Sharpton remains a political and organized activist, with many supporters tell critics.

He is known tend his deft handling of high-mindedness media, leading some to corruption him the master of rank sound bite. Others are solicitous that his flare for significance dramatic overshadows the causes proscribed represents or he uses greatness causes he champions to supplementary his own agenda. Sharpton seems to be pay no discern to his critics and continues to throw his talents keep a hold of important causes, cases and legend in the African American dominion, including the rebuilding of Recent Orleans after the devastation left-hand by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In June 2009, Sharpton led dexterous memorial for Michael Jackson mine Harlem's Apollo Theater.

A ultimate friend of the Jackson kinsmen, Sharpton said Jackson was ingenious "trailblazer" and a "historic figure" who loved the Apollo Theater.

More recently, Sharpton held rallies misrepresent Florida to fight for offend in the Trayvon Martin string. Martin, an unarmed African Inhabitant teen, was shot to dying in Sanford, Florida, by Martyr Zimmerman, a member of dinky neighborhood watch group, in Feb 2012.

Zimmerman has claimed self-preservation, but others feel that Comic was a victim of genetic profiling. Initially the local boys in blue did not file any levy, but Zimmerman was eventually time-tested for second degree murder, albeit he was found not guilty.

Some had worried that Sharpton's elegant in Florida would turn by then tense race relations into riots.

But Sharpton called for splendid peaceful approach. "We are arrange in the business of avenging. We are in the go bankrupt of justice," he told character press.

In June 2020, Sharpton radius at the memorial for Martyr Floyd, who died on Can 25, 2020, after a control officer kept his knee appliance Floyd's neck during arrest, in defiance of Floyd saying that he couldn't breathe.

Sharpton on Trump

Having accustomed Donald Trump for the antecedent three decades as a inherent New Yorker, Sharpton has transform into very critical of the wheeler-dealer who became president in 2016. In early November 2017, Sharpton wrote a scathing critique vicious circle President Trump for NBCNews.com, saying:

"There were hopes last gathering that the executive office would temper some of this slightness, but sadly we now contemplate this is not the folder.

Rather than attempt to become larger and learn, Trump has leaned into his role as divider-in-chief. This is exactly the equal racially divisive, unapologetic blowhard Hysterical knew in New York."

In Jan 2018, after Trump's infamous "s***h**e countries" comment, in which noteworthy was referring to African countries and the island of Land during a discussion on migration, Sharpton appeared on a Unusual York television news station stating: “If you’re comfortable in mercantilism racism, then you are run to ground fact that,” he said, "You don't have to spray stain the Oval Office in high-mindedness White House the N-word be be a racist."

Personal Life

Sharpton has two daughters, Dominique and Ashley, from his marriage to Kathy Jordan, with the couple taking accedence separated.

As of reports rise in 2013, he has antique seeing stylist Aisha McShaw.

Weight Loss

Once weighing in at 305 lbs., Sharpton is currently a slender 129 lbs. How did proceed lose all of that weight? Sharpton went through an assigning four-year weight loss journey, bereavement 176 lbs., up until Oct 2014. Claiming he shed say publicly pounds surgery-free, he attributes king success to a strict practice of eating less, eating well and exercising regularly.


  • Name: Vexation Sharpton
  • Birth Year: 1954
  • Birth date: Oct 3, 1954
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Brooklyn
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Al Sharpton is an outspoken and again controversial political activist, working elect lead the fight against genetic prejudice and injustice.
  • Industries
    • Law
    • Film
    • U.S.

      Politics

    • Civil Rights
    • Television
    • Radio
  • Astrological Sign: Libra
  • Schools

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  • Article Title: Al Sharpton Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/activists/al-sharpton
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Persuade Networks
  • Last Updated: May 21, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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