Al Sharpton

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Al Sharpton (2007)

Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton (born October 3, 1954 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American Baptist preacher , civil rights activist and radio / television presenter. In 2004 he tried unsuccessfully to become a Democratic candidate for the 2004 US presidential election .

Life

Sharpton became a Pentecostal preacher at the age of nine . He converted to Baptism in the 1990s and has been a Baptist pastor ever since. Al Sharpton is considered a rebellious, socially critical preacher. In 1992 and 1994 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate and in 1997 as Mayor of New York , 2004. In the primaries for the US presidential election 2004, Sharpton ran as a candidate in the primaries of the Democratic Party , but announced on March 15 2004 his support for the later Democratic candidate John Kerry .

Sharpton is anti- war , represents minorities and underprivileged people.

The Brawley case haunts Sharpton to the present day

In the Tawana Brawley case , Sharpton was sued and fined on charges of defamation in the 1980s.

In November 2006, he led a protest march over the death of 23-year-old black New Yorker Sean Bell . New York police officers fired a total of 50 shots at the unarmed Bell and his two companions.

On July 7, 2009, Al Sharpton delivered a speech at the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles . On June 4, 2020, at the request of the family, he was the main speaker at the memorial service for George Floyd .

He played himself in two episodes of the US series Boston Legal .

Al Sharpton has been married for a second time since 1980; he has two daughters. He lives separated from his wife.

reception

Sharpton's work has attracted supporters as well as critics. Supporters praise Sharpton for his engagement against power structures, in which they see the cause of their problems. Edward I. Koch stated that Sharpton's reputation among African Americans was well deserved, as he was ready to go to jail for them and was there when they needed him. The journalist Derrick Z. Jackson, however, described Sharpton as the "black equivalent" of Richard Nixon and Pat Robertson . Critics and opponents accused him of being partly responsible for the deterioration in US racial relations, with the sociologist Orlando Patterson going so far as to describe him as a "racial arsonist".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rev. Al Sharpton interviewed by Bob Edwards (June 13, 2003) Excerpts from a radio interview (in English) dated June 13, 2003, accessed on www.npr.org on April 9, 2014
  2. ^ Al Sharpton Fast Facts , CNN, Nov. 7, 2019
  3. ↑ Taylor, Clarence: Black Religious Intellectuals. The Fight for Equality from Jim Crow to the 21st Century. New York: Routledge 2002, p. 127. ISBN 0415933269 .
  4. ↑ David B. Caruso: Records show Sharpton owes overdue taxes, other penalties English-language article from October 5, 2010, accessed on www.usatoday.com on April 9, 2014
  5. ^ A b Taylor: Black Religious Intellectuals , p. 120.
  6. ↑ Taylor: Black Religious Intellectuals , p. 118.

Web links

Commons : Al Sharpton  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Sharpton, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sharpton, Alfred Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American civil rights activist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH new York