Al Sharpton
Biden tells racial justice meeting, 'We've kept our promises,' as he looks to energize Black voters
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden virtually addressed the Rev. Al Sharpton’s racial justice conference on Friday, telling a sympathetic crowd “we’ve kept our promises” as he ramps up efforts to energize Black voters who will be vital to his reelection bid this fall. Addressing several hundred attendees at the annual National Action Network Convention in New York, Biden ticked through a long list of what he said were some of his administration’s key accomplishments for Black Americans. He detailed providing federal public works funding to reconnect city neighborhoods that...
Rev. Al Sharpton Vows to Pursue Justice In Alleged Cover-Up Of Dexter Wade’s Death
Roughly 200 mourners gathered Monday, Nov. 20, for the funeral of Dexter Wade, a 37-year-old father killed by an off-duty Jackson, Mississippi, police officer in March. Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy at New Horizon Church International, pledged to lead the fight for justice against anyone involved in the alleged cover-up of Wade’s death, as reported by WLBT. Sharpton and the National Action Network covered Wade’s funeral expenses. “His life mattered to his mama and daughters, and we’re going to make it matter all over this country,” Sharpton said....
In Eulogy, Al Sharpton Calls Dexter Wade's Death 'National Outrage'
According to Jackson, Miss., officials, an off-duty police officer struck and killed Wade, 37, while he was walking along a six-lane highway in March. But they failed to notify Wade’s family of his death for several months and buried him in a pauper cemetery near the Hinds County Penal Farm. “What happened to Dexter is a disgrace, a national outrage, and should be treated as such. It is time for the mayor and the city council to stand up for Dexter,” Sharpton said Monday (Nov. 20) at the New Horizon...
Rev. Al Sharpton Responds to Plea of Ex-Memphis Cop in Tyre Nichols Case
Rev. Al Sharpton says the guilty plea of one of the former Memphis policemen accused in the killing of Tyre Nichols is one more serious move toward getting justice for his family. On Thursday (Nov. 2) Desmond Mills, Jr., admitted to “one count of deprivation of rights under color of law after using excessive force and failing to intervene and one count of witness tampering,” in connection with an attempted cover-up of the fatal beating of Nichols at the hands of police on Jan.7. After an internal investigation, each officer...
Memorial for NJ Lt. Gov Sheila Oliver, including eulogy by Al Sharpton, Saturday in Newark
The state funeral and memorial service for New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Gov. Phil Murphy and the Rev. Al Sharpton will both give eulogies. Long lines of mourners paid respect to the path-breaking elected leader during two days that her body laid in state. A gold hearse with the state seal on its door carried her flag-draped coffin to the rotunda at the state capitol on Thursday. Then, her coffin was brought...
Sharpton threatens to protest McDonald's over racial discrimination, putting fast food chain 'on notice'
The National Action Network, a non-profit civil rights activism group headed by Rev. Al Sharpton, has warned it will "mobilize" against McDonald's unless the fast food company addresses accusations of racial discrimination.
Sharpton said he sent a letter to McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski on Thursday urging the company to acknowledge complaints of racism in its employment, advertising and franchising practices, though National Action Network did not publish a copy of the letter.
Rev. Al Sharpton leads marchers opposed to Florida's rejection of AP African American studies course
Hundreds of marchers, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton and other activists, held a rally outside Florida’s state Capitol on Wednesday to protest Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s rejection of a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies. The state last month rejected the proposed AP multidisciplinary study of the African American diaspora that includes literature, the arts, science, politics and geography. The DeSantis administration has said the course “lacks educational value” and violated state law.
Al Sharpton says Ron DeSantis trying to 'erase Black history' amid AP course controversy
Civil Rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton traveled to Tallahassee, Florida on Wednesday afternoon to protest what he called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to "bring the state back to the pre-Civil Rights era by banning Black history from the classroom" after the administration rejected a version of the College Board's high school Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course. Sharpton and a group of students, parents, civil-rights leaders and elected officials gathered at the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. and marched to the Old Florida State...
‘He was robbed of his life’: in Memphis, tributes to Tyre Nichols – and a call to action
On a frigid Wednesday afternoon, RowVaughn Wells looked into the crowd of hundreds inside the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, and gave her own call to action in the funeral service for her son Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by Memphis police earlier this month. Her voice cracked as she joined a fellowship of other Black mothers who lost their children to police violence over the years.
Wells remembered her son as a “beautiful person”, adding that “for this to happen to him is unimaginable”.
Mourners call for end to police violence at Tyre Nichols funeral
The relatives of Black people killed by police in cities across the United States came to Tyre Nichols' funeral in a Memphis church on Wednesday to offer comfort to the family of the Black 29-year-old, who was fatally beaten by officers last month.
Speaking over a flower-bedecked casket at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, preachers recalled a young man who loved photography and skateboarding, and demanded justice for Nichols.