Rev. Al Sharpton's Weekly Blog
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Right Wing and Megan Williams
—Oct 23 2009Freedom of the press unequivocally stands at the core of fundamentals in the United States of America. It is a form of checks and balances towards the government, business and other entities in our society. But when producers, editors, journalists, executives and media conglomerates themselves begin fabricating news and openly spreading half-truths and lies, it’s […]
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In the Case of Rush Limbaugh, Activism Once Again Prevails
—Oct 20 2009Last week, when conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh lost his bid for partial ownership of the St. Louis Rams, many adjectives were used to describe his possible state of mind. Several news outlets commented on his anger and frustration, while the right-wing had a field day with the ‘injustice’ of it all. But perhaps […]
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Complex Roots
—Oct 09 2009They say you won’t get anywhere in life until you know where you’ve come from. But for the countless number of African Americans in this country, the simple act of knowing one’s history is a complicated and painful notion. Painful in the sheer sense that through the bondages of slavery, we have been literally stripped […]
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Violence Must End
—Oct 06 2009Every time a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is killed, it makes headlines. Whenever a police officer or firefighter dies, we hear about it. If there’s an unfortunate shooting at a prestigious university or small town all-American school, society pauses and grapples with the notion of how this could have happened there, in middle America, […]
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ACORN
—Sep 28 2009It was the 1960s, and after decades following the abolishment of slavery, African Americans were still vying for simple fundamental human rights including the most basic form of involvement in society – voting. Routinely disenfranchised from the process via underhanded tactics such as literacy tests, and more blatant intimidation methods like outright murder and violence, […]
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Obama, Carter, and Race
—Sep 18 2009It’s hard to imagine that less than a century ago, police sergeants and sheriffs were overseeing the burning of crosses and ensuring the safety of Ku Klux Klansmen in places like Queens, NY. And that fifty years ago, people of color were still fighting for the ability to use public bathrooms and drink from water […]
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President Obama’s Healthcare Speech
—Sep 11 2009For the past several weeks, all we have been inundated with is negativity; a decline in President Obama’s approval ratings, scare tactics, weakening support for health reform and an overall sense of pessimism and frustration with regards to change. Pundits, critics and the like spent the month of August focusing on town hall uproars and […]
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Holder and Civil Rights Division
—Sep 04 2009It was 1957 and the nation was in the midst of the largest sweeping cultural change since the abolishment of slavery. Integration was taking root in every facet of life, Blacks were beginning to see a sliver of opportunity that had been afforded their White counterparts and Washington was busy implementing laws that would create […]
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What Would MLK Say About Healthcare?
—Aug 21 2009In April of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. intellectually and emphatically asserted that ‘freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed’ as he diligently wrote from a rotting prison cell. His now infamous Letter from a Birmingham Jail called for a restoration of human rights, liberty and […]
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Education Tour
—Aug 12 2009When President Barack Obama shared a cold one with Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley last month, the world was astonished and amazed by the show of unity, discourse and advancement taking place. But when former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and I will hit the road this fall, you better believe jaws are […]