Editing Al Sharpton

{{Short description|American Baptist minister, activist and talk show host (born 1954)}}
{{For|the song|Real Talk (Man Overboard album)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
|honorific_prefix = [[The Reverend]]
|name         = Al Sharpton
|image        = Al Sharpton - 2023 (52635231033) (cropped).jpg
|caption      = Sharpton in 2023
|birth_name   = Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr.
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1954|10|3}}
|birth_place  = [[New York City]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|occupation   = [[Baptist]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]]<br />[[Civil rights]]/[[social justice]] [[Activism|activist]]<br />Radio and television talk show host
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|years_active = 1969–present
|spouse       = {{Plain list|
* Marsha Tinsley (less than a year)<ref>{{cite web |author=Ellen Warren |date=November 20, 2003 |title=Al Sharpton: Reinventing himself |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-2004election-sharptonprofile-story.html#page=1 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=November 22, 2014 |quote=At 20, Sharpton married recording artist Marsha Tinsley but it lasted less than a year.}}</ref>
* {{Marriage|Kathy Jordan|1980|2004|end=separated}}
}}
|children     = 2
}}

'''Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr.'''<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Al Sharpton Fast Facts |quote=Birth name: Alfred Charles Sharpton, Jr. |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=March 3, 2013 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/us/al-sharpton-fast-facts/ |access-date=November 22, 2014}}</ref> (born October 3, 1954) is an American [[civil rights]] and [[social justice]] activist, [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the [[National Action Network]] civil rights organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/about.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529105446/http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/about.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 29, 2009 |title=National Action Network – About Us }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/rev-al-sharpton |title=Bio: Rev. Al Sharpton |date=August 27, 2003 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=September 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064831/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,75751,00.html |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/al-sharpton-msnbc-host-politicsnation_n_934227|title=It's Official: Sharpton Gets MSNBC Hosting Gig|first=Jack|last=Mirkinson|date=August 23, 2011|website=HuffPost}}</ref>  In 2004, he was [[Al Sharpton 2004 presidential campaign|a candidate]] for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nomination for the [[2004 United States presidential election|U.S. presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rev-al-sharpton-the-refined-agitator/ |title=Rev. Al Sharpton, The "Refined Agitator" |date=May 22, 2011 |work=[[60 Minutes]] |access-date=June 4, 2014}}</ref>  He hosts a weekday radio talk show, ''[[Keepin It Real with Al Sharpton|Keepin' It Real]]'', which is nationally syndicated by [[Urban One]], and he is a political analyst and weekend host for [[MSNBC]], hosting ''[[PoliticsNation]]''.<ref name = "msnbc_official">{{cite news |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/al-sharpton-formally-named-msnbc-host/ |title=Al Sharpton Formally Named MSNBC Host |first=Brian|last=Stelter|author-link=Brian Stelter |date=August 23, 2011 |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City|access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref><ref name="thedailybeast.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/28/why-al-sharpton-is-happy-with-his-msnbc-demotion.html|title=Why Al Sharpton Is Happy With His MSNBC Demotion|first=Lloyd|last=Grove|date=August 28, 2015|website=[[The Daily Beast]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Rogo| first =Paula | title = Al Sharpton's MSNBC 'PoliticsNation' Given New Timeslot| newspaper =[[Essence (magazine)|Essence]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =October 23, 2020 | url = https://www.essence.com/news/al-sharpton-msnbc-politicsnation-new-timeslot/ | accessdate =October 8, 2022 }}</ref>

Sharpton is known for making various controversial and incendiary comments over his career. He has been accused of making [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] and racially insensitive remarks as well as inciting incidents of violence.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/al-sharpton-admits-to-using-cheap-rhetoric-about-jews/|title= Al Sharpton admits to using 'cheap' rhetoric about Jews|website= The Times of Israel|date= May 20, 2019|access-date= December 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.npr.org/2013/01/19/169734710/the-rev-al-sharpton-in-six-true-false-statements|title= The Rev. Al Sharpton, In Six True-False Statements|website= [[NPR]]|date= January 19, 2013|access-date= December 18, 2022|last1= Dade|first1= Corey}}</ref> In 1987 he was highly active in publicizing the [[Tawana Brawley rape allegations]] in the media; the allegation was later proved to be false.<ref name=cnn-1998-01-14/>

==Early life==
Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. was born in the [[Brownsville, Brooklyn|Brownsville]] neighborhood of [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]], to Ada (née Richards) and Alfred Charles Sharpton Sr.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wargs.com/political/sharpton.html |title=Ancestry of Rev. Al Sharpton |first=William Addams|last=Reitwiesner |access-date=June 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724173537/http://www.wargs.com/political/sharpton.html |archive-date=July 24, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogy.about.com/od/famous_family_trees/p/al_sharpton.htm |title=Ancestry of Rev. Al Sharpton – Family Tree and Ancestors of Alfred Sharpton, Jr |publisher=Genealogy.about.com |access-date=October 28, 2013 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120320/http://genealogy.about.com/od/famous_family_trees/p/al_sharpton.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sharpton has [[Cherokee roots]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Blue |last=Clark |date=2020 |title=Indian Tribes of Oklahoma: A Guide, Second Edition |location=Norman, Oklahoma |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=9780806167626 |page=82}}</ref> He preached his first [[sermon]] at the age of four and toured with [[Gospel music|gospel]] singer [[Mahalia Jackson]].<ref name=Marks>{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1203/p01s04-uspo.html |title=The Rev. Al Sharpton's latest crusade |first=Alexandra|last=Marks |date=December 3, 2003 |access-date=June 19, 2007 |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|location=Boston, Massachusetts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609012425/http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1203/p01s04-uspo.html |archive-date=June 9, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1963, Sharpton's father left his wife to have a relationship with Sharpton's half-sister. Ada took a job as a maid, but her income was so low that the family qualified for [[welfare (financial aid)|welfare]] and had to move from [[middle class]] [[Hollis, Queens|Hollis]], [[Queens]], to the [[public housing]] projects in the [[Brownsville, Brooklyn|Brownsville]] neighborhood of Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/politics/national/2004race/5570/ |title=Rev Vs. Rev |first=Jack|last=Newfield|author-link=Jack Newfield|date=January 7, 2002 |access-date=June 19, 2007 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|location=New York City}}</ref>

Sharpton graduated from [[Samuel J. Tilden High School]] in Brooklyn, and attended [[Brooklyn College]], dropping out after two years in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/he-has-dream?page=full |title=He Has a Dream |first=Scott |last=Sherman |date=April 16, 2001 |access-date=May 30, 2011 |work=[[The Nation]] |publisher=The Nation, L.P. |location=New York City |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113075755/https://www.thenation.com/article/he-has-dream/?page=full |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1972, he accepted the position of youth director for the presidential campaign of Congresswoman [[Shirley Chisholm]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/us/al-sharpton-fast-facts |title=Al Sharpton Fast Facts |date=March 27, 2013 |website=[[CNN]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref> Between the years 1973 and 1980 Sharpton served as [[James Brown]]'s tour manager.<ref name=ipppafa>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=131787&page=1 |title=Who Is Al Sharpton? |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company]]|location=New York City|access-date=April 22, 2012}}</ref>

==Activism==
In 1969, Sharpton was appointed by [[Jesse Jackson]] to serve as youth director of the New York City branch of [[Operation Breadbasket]],<ref name=ipppafa /> a group that focused on the promotion of new and better jobs for [[African American]]s.<ref name="CNN 2004">[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/candidates/sharpton.html Candidates – Al Sharpton], CNN's "America Votes 2004", Retrieved April 7, 2007</ref>

In 1971, Sharpton founded the [[National Youth Movement]] to raise resources for impoverished youth.<ref name="history">[http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=171 Sharpton Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626023601/http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=171 |date=June 26, 2006 }}, thehistorymakers.com, web site access April 7, 2007</ref>

===Bernhard Goetz===
{{Main|1984 New York City Subway shooting}}

Bernhard Goetz shot four African-American men on a [[New York City Subway]] {{NYCS|2}} train in [[Manhattan]] on December 22, 1984, when they approached him and tried to rob him. At his trial Goetz was acquitted of all charges except for carrying an unlicensed firearm. Sharpton led several marches protesting what he saw as the weak prosecution of the case.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Slackman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/us/sharpton-runs-for-presidency-and-influence.html|title=Sharpton Runs for Presidency, and Influence|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 5, 2003}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/29/nyregion/the-city-us-prosecution-of-goetz-sought.html|title=U.S. Prosecution Of Goetz Sought|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 29, 1985}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news|first=David E.|last=Pitt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/18/nyregion/blacks-see-goetz-verdict-as-blow-to-race-relations.html|title=Blacks See Goetz Verdict As Blow To Race Relations|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 18, 1987}}</ref> Sharpton and other civil rights leaders said Goetz's actions were racist and requested a federal civil rights investigation.<ref name="auto2"/> A federal investigation concluded the shooting was due to an attempted robbery and not race.<ref name="auto3"/>

===Howard Beach===
{{Main|Howard Beach racial incident}}

On December 20, 1986, three African-American men were assaulted in the [[Howard Beach, Queens|Howard Beach]] neighborhood of [[Queens]] by a mob of white men. The three men were chased by their attackers onto the [[Belt Parkway]], where one of them, [[Michael Griffith (manslaughter victim)|Michael Griffith]], was struck and killed by a passing motorist.<ref>{{cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |date=December 21, 1986 |title=Black Man Dies After Beating in Queens |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/21/nyregion/black-man-dies-after-beating-by-whites-in-queens.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

A week later, on December 27, Sharpton led 1,200 demonstrators on a march through the streets of Howard Beach. Residents of the neighborhood, who were overwhelmingly white, yelled racial epithets at the protesters, who were largely black.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ronald|last=Smothers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/28/nyregion/1200-protesters-of-racial-attack-march-in-queens.html|title=1,200 Protesters of Racial Attack March in Queens |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 28, 1986}}</ref> A [[special prosecutor]] was appointed by New York Governor [[Mario Cuomo]] after the two surviving victims refused to co-operate with the Queens [[district attorney]]. Sharpton's role in the case helped propel him to national prominence.

===Bensonhurst===
{{Main|Murder of Yusef Hawkins}}
{{See also|#Assassination attempt}}
[[Image:Al Sharpton, 1989 Protest March, Brooklyn NY.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Sharpton leading the first protest march over the [[murder of Yusef Hawkins]] in [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], 1989]]

On August 23, 1989, four African-American teenagers were beaten by a group of 10 to 30 white Italian-American youths in [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], a [[Brooklyn]] neighborhood. One Bensonhurst resident, armed with a handgun, shot and killed 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins.

In the weeks following the assault and murder, Sharpton led several marches through Bensonhurst. The first protest, just days after the incident, was greeted by neighborhood residents shouting "Niggers go home" and holding watermelons to mock the demonstrators.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nick|last=Ravo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/27/nyregion/marchers-and-brooklyn-youths-trade-racial-jeers.html|title=Marchers and Brooklyn Youths Trade Racial Jeers|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 27, 1989}}</ref>

Sharpton also threatened that Hawkins's three companions would not cooperate with prosecutor [[Elizabeth Holtzman]] unless her office agreed to hire more black attorneys. In the end, they cooperated.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=DeSantis|title=For the Color of His Skin: The Murder of Yusuf Hawkins and the Trial of Bensonhurst|url=https://archive.org/details/forcolorofhisski00desa|url-access=registration|date=1991|location=New York City|publisher=Pharos Books|isbn=978-0-88687-621-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/forcolorofhisski00desa/page/190 190]}}</ref>

In May 1990, when one of the two leaders of the mob was acquitted of the most serious charges brought against him, Sharpton led another protest through Bensonhurst. In January 1991, when other members of the gang were given light sentences, Sharpton planned another march for January 12, 1991. Before that demonstration began, neighborhood resident Michael Riccardi tried to kill Sharpton by stabbing him in the chest.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/nyregion/sharpton-is-stabbed-at-bensonhurst-protest.html|title=Sharpton Is Stabbed at Bensonhurst Protest|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 13, 1991}}</ref> Sharpton recovered from his wounds, and later asked the judge for leniency when Riccardi was sentenced.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lee A.|last=Daniels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/17/nyregion/attacker-of-sharpton-is-sentenced.html|title=Attacker Of Sharpton Is Sentenced|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 17, 1992}}</ref>

===National Action Network===
{{Main|National Action Network}}
[[Image:Al Sharpton 2 by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Al Sharpton at National Action Network's headquarters]]
In 1991, Sharpton founded the [[National Action Network]], an organization designed to increase voter education, to provide services to those in [[poverty]], and to support small community businesses. In 2016, [[Boise Kimber]], an associate of Sharpton and a member of his NAN national board, along with businessman and philanthropist Don Vaccaro, launched Grace Church Websites, a non-profit organization that helps churches create and launch their own websites.<ref name=NAN/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nhregister.com/social-affairs/20160901/grace-church-websites-launches-free-websites-for-greater-new-haven-churches-nonprofit-organizations|title=Grace Church Websites launches free websites for Greater New Haven churches, nonprofit organization|newspaper=[[New Haven Register]]|publisher=[[Hearst Newspapers]]|location=New Haven, Connecticut| date=September 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionnews.com/2016/11/30/bridging-the-digital-divide-company-gives-churches-free-websites/|title=Bridging the digital divide, company gives churches free websites|website=[[Religion News Service]]|date=November 30, 2016|location=Columbia, Missouri}}</ref>

===Crown Heights riot===
{{Main|Crown Heights riot}}
The [[Crown Heights riot]] began on August 19, 1991, after a car driven by a Jewish man, and part of a procession led by an unmarked police car, went through an intersection and was struck by another vehicle causing it to veer onto the sidewalk where it accidentally struck and killed a seven-year-old [[Guyana|Guyanese]] boy named [[Gavin Cato]] and severely injured his cousin Angela. Witnesses could not agree upon the speed and could not agree whether the light was yellow or red. One of the factors that sparked the riot was the arrival of a private ambulance, which was later discovered to be on the orders of a police officer who was worried for the Jewish driver's safety, removed him from the scene while Cato lay pinned under his car.<ref name=forget/> After being removed from under the car, Cato and his cousin were treated soon after by a city ambulance. [[West Indian Americans|Caribbean-American]] and African-American residents of the neighborhood rioted for four consecutive days fueled by rumors that the private ambulance had refused to treat Cato.<ref name=forget>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Kamber|title=As a Divided Community Begins to Forget, a Court Reopens Old Wounds in Crown Heights |date=January 22, 2002 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0203,kamber,31532,1.html |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|publisher=Voice Media|location=New York City|access-date=April 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807211916/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0203%2Ckamber%2C31532%2C1.html |archive-date=August 7, 2007  }}</ref><ref name=closet/> During the riot black youths looted stores,<ref name=forget/> beat Jews in the street,<ref name=forget/> and clashed with groups of Jews, hurling rocks and bottles at one another<ref>{{cite news |first=John|last=Kifner |title=A Boy's Death Ignites Clashes in Crown Heights |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| url=https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9D0CE1D6173EF932A1575BC0A967958260.html |date=August 21, 1991 |access-date=March 28, 2008}}</ref> after Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting student from Australia, was stabbed and killed by a member of a mob while some chanted "Kill the Jew", and "get the Jews out".<ref>{{cite news |first=Julia |last=Vitullo-Martin |title=Things Go Seriously Wrong |date=June 1, 2003 |url=http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20030602/4/408 |work=The Gotham Gazette |publisher=Citizen Union Foundation|location=New York City |access-date=April 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427090825/http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20030602/4/408 |archive-date=April 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Sharpton marched through Crown Heights and in front of the [[770 Eastern Parkway|headquarters]] of the [[Chabad]]-Lubavitch [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic movement]], shortly after the riot, with about 400 protesters (who chanted "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "[[No justice, no peace]]!"), in spite of Mayor [[David Dinkins]]' attempts to keep the march from happening.<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Kifner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/25/nyregion/tension-in-brooklyn-blacks-march-by-hasidim-through-a-corridor-of-blue.html |title=Tension in Brooklyn; Blacks March by Hasidim Through a Corridor of Blue|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 25, 1991}}</ref><ref name=forget/> Some commentators felt Sharpton inflamed tensions by making remarks that included "If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their [[Kippah|yarmulkes]] back and come over to my house."<ref>{{cite news |title=Sharpton Calls For a Boycott Of Classes |first=Mark |last=Lowery |work=[[Newsday]] |location=New York City|date=August 18, 1991 |page=5}}</ref> In his eulogy for Cato, Sharpton said, "The world will tell us he was killed by accident. Yes, it was a social accident...It's an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights...Talk about how Oppenheimer in South Africa sends diamonds straight to Tel Aviv and deals with the diamond merchants right here in Crown Heights. The issue is not anti-Semitism; the issue is apartheid...All we want to say is what Jesus said: If you offend one of these little ones, you got to pay for it. No compromise, no meetings, no kaffe klatsch, no skinnin' and grinnin'. Pay for your deeds."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Saletan |first1=William |last2=Zenilman |first2=Avi |title=The Gaffes of Al Sharpton |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2003/10/the-gaffes-of-al-sharpton.html |website=Slate |access-date=11 March 2021 |date=7 October 2003}}</ref>

In the decades since, Sharpton has conceded that his language and tone "sometimes exacerbated tensions" though he insisted that his marches were peaceful.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gothamist.com/2011/08/21/al_sharpton_regrets_how_he_handled.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128053006/http://gothamist.com/2011/08/21/al_sharpton_regrets_how_he_handled.php|url-status=dead|title=Al Sharpton Regrets How He Handled Crown Heights Riot Reaction|date=August 21, 2011|archive-date=November 28, 2014|website=[[Gothamist]]|publisher=Gothamist LLC|location=New York City}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Dan|last=Klein|url=https://www.jta.org/2011/08/22/united-states/al-sharpton-i-made-mistakes-during-crown-heights-riots|title=Al Sharpton: I made 'mistakes' during Crown Heights riots|date=August 22, 2011|agency=[[Jewish Telegraph Agency]]|location=New York City}}</ref> In a 2019 speech to a [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jewish]] gathering, Sharpton said that he could have "done more to heal rather than harm". He recalled receiving a call from [[Coretta Scott King]] at the time, during which she told him "sometimes you are tempted to speak to the applause of the crowd rather than the heights of the cause, and you will say cheap things to get cheap applause rather than do high things to raise the nation higher".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kampeas |first1=Ron |title=Al Sharpton admits to using 'cheap' rhetoric about Jews |url=https://www.jta.org/2019/05/20/united-states/al-sharpton-cops-to-cheap-rhetoric-in-the-past-in-a-controversial-talk-to-reform-jews |access-date=May 23, 2019 |agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |location=New York City|date=May 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kornbluh |first1=Jacob |author-link1=Jacob Kornbluh |title=Al Sharpton's mea culpa: I should have 'done more to heal rather than harm' |url=http://jewishinsider.com/2019/05/al-sharptons-mea-culpa-i-should-have-done-more-to-heal-rather-than-harm/ |access-date=May 23, 2019 |newspaper=[[Jewish Insider]] |location=Los Angeles, California|date=May 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Freddy's Fashion Mart===
{{main|Freddy's Fashion Mart attack}}
In 1995 a black [[Pentecostal]] Church, the United House of Prayer, which owned a retail property on [[125th Street (Manhattan)|125th Street]], asked Fred Harari, a [[Jewish]] tenant who operated Freddie's <!-- this is the verified spelling --> Fashion Mart, to evict his longtime subtenant, a black-owned record store called The Record Shack. Sharpton led a protest in [[Harlem]] against the planned eviction of The Record Shack,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/09/nyregion/bad-luck-and-horror-for-seven-in-a-shop.html |title=Bad Luck and Horror for Seven in a Shop |work=[[The New York Times]] |last=Sexton |first=Joe |date=December 9, 1995 |access-date=April 13, 2007 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New Yorker Reflect on a Massacre in Harlem |publisher=[[Times Union (Albany)|Albany Times Union]]/[[Associated Press]] |last=Pyle |first=Richard |date=December 12, 1995 |page=B2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Barry |first=Dan | author-link = Dan Barry (reporter) |title=Death on 128th street: The dispute; Plans to Evict Record-Shop Owner Roiled Residents |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=31 |date=December 9, 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/09/nyregion/death-128th-street-dispute-plans-evict-record-shop-owner-roiled-residents.html |access-date=July 7, 2009}}</ref> in which he told the protesters, "We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sharpton's Victory |first=Rich |last=Lowry |author-link=Rich Lowry |journal=National Review |date=December 3, 2003 |access-date=April 16, 2007 |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/lowry200312030840.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416024237/http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/lowry200312030840.asp |archive-date=April 16, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:40.AntiImpeachRally.WDC.17December1998 (22734773341).jpg|thumb|[[Jesse Jackson]] (third from left) and Sharpton (third from right) at anti-[[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] rally at the [[US Capitol]] in support of President [[Bill Clinton]] (fourth from left), December 17, 1998]]

On December 8, 1995, Roland J. Smith Jr., one of the protesters, entered Harari's store with a gun and flammable liquid, shot several customers and set the store on fire. The gunman fatally shot himself, and seven store employees died of smoke inhalation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eight killed in Harlem arson, Gunman among dead |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |last=Kifner |first=John |date=December 9, 1995 |access-date=April 16, 2007 |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/12/09/MN74133.DTL |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614022052/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/12/09/MN74133.DTL |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/18/us/life-resistance-special-report-gunman-s-ardent-credo-black-self-sufficiency.html |title=A Life of Resistance: A Special Report;Gunman's Ardent Credo: Black Self-Sufficiency |last=Sexton |first=John |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 18, 1995 |access-date=April 16, 2007}} Smith was found with a card identifying himself as Aboudima Moulika and he had also used the name Abugunde Mulocko.</ref> Fire Department officials discovered that the store's sprinkler had been shut down, in violation of the local fire code.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/15/nyregion/inquiry-traces-sprinkler-system-failure-in-fatal-harlem-fire.html "Inquiry Traces Sprinkler System Failure in Fatal Harlem Fire"]. ''The New York Times''. December 15, 1995.</ref> Sharpton claimed that the perpetrator was an open critic of himself and his nonviolent tactics. In 2002, Sharpton expressed regret for making the racial remark "white interloper" but denied responsibility for inflaming or provoking the violence.<ref name=Marks/><ref>{{cite news |title=Al Sharpton for president? |date=July 3, 2002 |url=http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/02179035.htm |work=The Phoenix.com |access-date=April 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151010210747/http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/02179035.htm |archive-date=October 10, 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

===Amadou Diallo===
{{Main|Shooting of Amadou Diallo}}
[[File:Sharpton46.jpg|thumb|200px|Rev. Al Sharpton outside of [[New York City Police Department]] Headquarters, 1999]]
In 1999, Sharpton led a protest to raise awareness about the death of Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from [[Guinea]] who was shot dead by [[New York Police Department|NYPD]] officers. Sharpton claimed that Diallo's death was the result of [[police brutality]] and [[racial profiling]]. Although all four defendants were found not guilty of any crimes in the criminal trial, Diallo's family was later awarded $3&nbsp;million in a wrongful death suit filed against the city.<ref>{{cite news |title=$3 Million Deal in Police Killing of Diallo in '99 |date=July 1, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/07/nyregion/07DIAL.html?pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 6, 2007 |first=Alan |last=Feuer}}</ref>

===Tyisha Miller===
{{Main|Tyisha Miller}}
In May 1999, Sharpton, [[Jesse Jackson]], and other activists protested the December 1998 fatal police shooting of [[Tyisha Miller]] in central [[Riverside, California]]. Miller, a 19-year-old African-American woman, had sat unconscious in a locked car with a flat tire and the engine left running, parked at a local gas station. After her relatives had called [[9-1-1]], [[Riverside Police Department]] officers who responded to the scene observed a gun in the young woman's lap, and according to their accounts, she was shaking and foaming at the mouth, and in need of medical attention. When officers decided to break her window to reach her, as one officer reached for the weapon, she allegedly awoke and clutched her firearm, prompting several officers to open fire, hitting her 23 times and killing her. When the [[Riverside County]] district attorney stated that the officers involved had erred in judgement but committed no crime, declining to file criminal charges against them, Sharpton participated in protests which reached their zenith when protestors spilled onto the busy [[California State Route 91|SR 91]], completely stopping traffic. Sharpton was arrested for his participation and leadership in these protests.<ref>{{citation |title=Hundreds Protest Killing of California Woman by Police |work=The New York Times |date=May 11, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/11/us/hundreds-protest-killing-of-california-woman-by-police.html |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref><ref name="NYTCalifornia">{{citation |title=California Officers Cleared in Killing of Young Woman, Prompting Protests |work=The New York Times |date=May 7, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/07/us/california-officers-cleared-in-killing-of-young-woman-prompting-protests.html |access-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> Sharpton referred to the special prosecutor, attorney general Bob Abrams, as "Mr. [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=New York Magazine|date=July 28, 1997|page=30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QegCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|date=February 1989|page=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlMqQqOSlQMC&pg=PA48|title = Bonfire of the Inanities}}</ref>

===Vieques===
{{Main|Navy-Vieques protests}}
[[Image:Fed29jail5bbtjeh.JPG|thumb|[[Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn]], where Sharpton was imprisoned]]
In 2001, Sharpton was jailed for 90 days on trespassing charges while protesting against U.S. military target practice exercises in [[Puerto Rico]] near a [[United States Navy]] bombing site.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/24/nyregion/sharpton-and-3-from-bronx-are-jailed-in-vieques-protest.html |title=Sharpton and 3 from Bronx are jailed in Vieques Protest |work=[[The New York Times]] |last=Lipton |first=Eric |date=May 24, 2001 |access-date=April 13, 2007 |page=1}}</ref> Sharpton was held in a Puerto Rican lockup for two days and then imprisoned at [[Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn]] on May 25, 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last=Feuer |first=Alan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/nyregion/sleeker-by-14-pounds-sharpton-fights-on.html |title=Sleeker by 14 Pounds, Sharpton Fights On |work=The New York Times |date=June 12, 2001 |access-date=April 29, 2010}}</ref> He was released on August 17, 2001.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Alfred&Middle=&LastName=Sharpton&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 Alfred Sharpton]" ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629170223/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Alfred&Middle=&LastName=Sharpton&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 |date=June 29, 2011 }}). [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.</ref>

===Ousmane Zongo===
{{Main|Ousmane Zongo}}

In 2002, Sharpton was involved in protests following the death of West African immigrant [[Ousmane Zongo]]. Zongo, who was unarmed, was shot by an undercover police officer during a raid on a warehouse in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]]. Sharpton met with the family and also provided some legal services.<ref name="Democracy now">[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/05/27/1934251 "As Outrage Mounts in New York Over the Police Killing of Another African Immigrant, Democracy Now! Interviews Kadiatou Diallo, Mother of Amadou Diallo"]. ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214201023/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03%2F05%2F27%2F1934251 |date=February 14, 2007 }}), Democracy Now!, 27 May 2003.</ref>

===Sean Bell===
{{Main|Shooting of Sean Bell}}
[[File:Baisden-and-Sharpton.jpg|thumb|Talk show host [[Michael Baisden]] and Al Sharpton, at the front of the September 20, 2007, march in [[Jena, Louisiana]]]]

On November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was shot and killed in the [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]] section of [[Queens]], New York, by plainclothes detectives from the New York Police Department in a fusillade of 50 bullets. The incident sparked fierce criticism of the police from the public and drew comparisons to the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo. Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trial in 2008 on charges ranging from manslaughter to reckless endangerment but were found not guilty.

On May 7, 2008, in response to the acquittals of the officers, Sharpton coordinated peaceful protests at major river crossings in New York City, including the [[Brooklyn Bridge]], the [[Queensboro Bridge]], the [[Triborough Bridge]], the [[Manhattan Bridge]], the [[Holland Tunnel]], and the [[Queens–Midtown Tunnel]]. Sharpton and about 200 others were arrested for blocking traffic and resisting police orders to disperse.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/protesters-assail-acquittal-of-officers-in-sean-bell-case/index.html |title=Bell Protesters Block Traffic Across City |access-date=May 8, 2008 |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=May 7, 2008 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510080721/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/protesters-assail-acquittal-of-officers-in-sean-bell-case/index.html |archive-date=May 10, 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

===Dunbar Village===
On March 11, 2008, Sharpton held a press conference to highlight what he said was unequal treatment of four suspected rapists in a high-profile crime in the [[Dunbar Village]] Housing Projects in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]]. The suspects, who were young black men, were arrested for allegedly raping and beating a black [[Haiti]]an woman at gunpoint. The crime also involved forcing the woman to perform oral sex on her 12-year-old son.<ref name=Dunbar>{{cite web|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-311sharpton,0,1042033.story |title=Sharpton says Dunbar Village defendants being treated unfairly |access-date=October 28, 2009 |last=Othón |first=Nancy L. |date=March 11, 2008 |work=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314141109/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-311sharpton%2C0%2C1042033.story |archive-date=March 14, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At his press conference Sharpton said that any violent act toward a woman is inexcusable but he felt that the accused youths were being treated unfairly because they were black. Sharpton contrasted the treatment of the suspects, who were held without bail, with white suspects involved in a gang rape—which he claimed was equivalent to the Dunbar Village attack—who were released after posting bond.<ref name=Dunbar/>

===Reclaim the Dream commemorative march===
[[File:20111015 Al Sharpton at the National Action Network Jobs Bill March.jpg|thumb|Sharpton speaking at the [[National Action Network]]'s march in support of the [[American Jobs Act]], October 15, 2011]]
On August 28, 2010, Sharpton and other civil rights leaders led a march to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the historic [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|March on Washington]]. After gathering at [[Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)|Dunbar High School]] in Washington, D.C., thousands of people marched five miles to the [[National Mall]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/28/AR2010082802564.html |title=Sharpton's 'Reclaim the Dream' Event Brings Thousands to Honor MLK |last1=Thomas-Lester |first1=Avis |last2=Harris |first2=Hamil R. |last3=Thompson |first3=Krissah |date=August 28, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 28, 2010}}</ref>

===Tanya McDowell===
{{Main|Tanya McDowell}}
In June 2011, Sharpton spoke at a rally in support of [[Tanya McDowell]], who was arrested and charged with [[larceny]] for allegedly registering her son for kindergarten in the wrong public school district using a false address. She claimed to spend time in both a [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], apartment and a homeless shelter in [[Norwalk, Connecticut|Norwalk]], where her son was registered.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Sharpton-defends-McDowell-at-NAACP-rally-1414359.php |title=Sharpton defends McDowell at NAACP rally |first=Teke |last=Wiggin |date=June 8, 2011 |work=[[Connecticut Post]] |access-date=March 2, 2012}}</ref>

===George Zimmerman===
{{Main|Killing of Trayvon Martin|George Zimmerman}}
Following the 2012 [[killing of Trayvon Martin]] by [[George Zimmerman]], Sharpton led several protests and rallies criticizing the [[Sanford Police Department (Florida)|Sanford Police Department]] over the handling of the shooting and called for Zimmerman's arrest: "Zimmerman should have been arrested that night. You cannot defend yourself against a pack of Skittles and iced tea."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-22/news/os-trayvon-martin-al-sharpton-rally-20120322_1_national-action-network-sharpton-crowd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324115023/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-22/news/os-trayvon-martin-al-sharpton-rally-20120322_1_national-action-network-sharpton-crowd |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |title=Trayvon Martin Al Sharpton rally: Rev. Al Sharpton holds justice rally for slain teen Trayvon Martin |work=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref> [[Sean Hannity]] accused Sharpton and MSNBC of "rush[ing] to judgment" in the case. [[MSNBC]] issued a statement in which they said Sharpton "repeatedly called for calm" and further investigation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Rebecca |title=Sean Hannity George Zimmerman Interview: MSNBC Hits Out At Fox News |work=The Huffington Post |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/sean-hannity-george-zimmerman-msnbc-statement_n_1687133.html |date=July 19, 2012 |access-date=July 23, 2012}}</ref> Following the acquittal of Zimmerman, Sharpton called the not guilty verdict an "atrocity" and "a slap in the face to those that believe in justice".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbzt.com/articles/national-news-104668/al-sharpton-verdict-an-atrocity-11480129/ |title=Al Sharpton: Verdict an 'Atrocity' |publisher=Wbzt.com |date=July 14, 2013 |access-date=October 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029234751/http://www.wbzt.com/articles/national-news-104668/al-sharpton-verdict-an-atrocity-11480129/ |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Subsequently, Sharpton and his organization, [[National Action Network]], held rallies in several cities denouncing the verdict and called for "Justice for Trayvon".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/07/20/203934416/a-week-after-zimmerman-acquittal-protest-rallies-planned |title='Justice For Trayvon' Rallies Held In Numerous Cities |date=July 20, 2013 |work=NPR |access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref>

===Eric Garner===
[[File:TAG Sharpton Esaw Garner.jpg|thumb|250px|upright|Rev. Sharpton and Eric Garner's widow, Esaw Garner (right) in [[Staten Island]], protesting the killing of Eric Garner, July 19, 2014]]
{{Main|Killing of Eric Garner}}
After the July 2014 [[death of Eric Garner]] on [[Staten Island]], New York, by a [[New York City Police Department]] officer, Daniel Pantaleo, Sharpton organized a peaceful protest in Staten Island on the afternoon of July 19, and condemned the police's use of the chokehold on Garner, saying that "there is no justification" for it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-sharpton-events-20140719-story.html |title=Rev. Al Sharpton leads calls for justice in NYPD chokehold death |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 19, 2014 |access-date=July 19, 2014 |author=Queally, James}}</ref> Sharpton had also planned to lead a protest on August 23, in which participants would have driven over the [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge]], then traveled to the site of the altercation and the office of District Attorney [[Dan Donovan (politician)|Dan Donovan]]<ref>Allen, Jonathan. [https://news.yahoo.com/bridge-protest-over-nyc-mans-arrest-death-proceed-171924935.html Bridge protest over NYC man's arrest death to proceed], ''[[Reuters]]'', August 9, 2014.</ref> This idea was scrapped in favor of Sharpton leading a peaceful march along Bay Street in Staten Island, where Garner died; over 5,000 people marched in the demonstration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/chokehold-death-demonstrators-leave-harlem-bus-staten-island-article-1.1914257|title=Chokehold death demonstrators flood Staten Island in protest|website=[[New York Daily News]]|date=August 23, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-eric-garner-rally-staten-island-20140823-story.html |title=Thousands march through Staten Island to protest Eric Garner's death |author=Los Angeles Times |date=August 23, 2014 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/thousands-peacefully-march-in-new-york-city-for-eric-garner |title=Thousands Peacefully March In New York City To Protest The Death Of Eric Garner |first=Alison|last=Vingiano |website=[[BuzzFeed]]|date=August 23, 2014 |publisher=Buzzfeed Media Group|location=New York City|access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/rally-eric-garner |title=In Staten Island, a peaceful march for Eric Garner |work=MSNBC |access-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222225341/http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/rally-eric-garner |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Barack Obama===
In 2014, [[Glenn Thrush]] of ''[[Politico]]'' described Sharpton as an "adviser" to President [[Barack Obama]] and as Obama's "go-to man" on racial issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/al-sharpton-obama-race-110249.html|title=Revved Up|first=Glenn|last=Thrush|website=[[Politico]]|access-date=July 7, 2019|archive-date=June 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618084609/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/al-sharpton-obama-race-110249.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Ministers March for Justice===
On August 28, 2017, the fifty-fourth anniversary of the [[March on Washington]] at which [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] gave his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech, Sharpton organized the Ministers March for Justice, promising to bring a thousand members of the clergy to Washington, D.C., to deliver a "unified moral rebuke" to President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/08/28/religious-leaders-gather-in-washington-to-show-unified-moral-opposition-to-trump/ |title=Dueling clergy protests over the Trump presidency converge on Washington |first1=Perry |last1=Stein |first2=Julie |last2=Zauzmer |date=August 28, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 30, 2017 }}</ref> Several thousand religious leaders were present, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, and [[Sikhism|Sikh]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/28/clergy-march-racial-justice-anniversary-martin-luther-kings-i-have-dream-speech/609402001/ |title=Clergy march for racial justice on anniversary of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech |first=Bart |last=Jansen |date=August 28, 2017 |work=USA Today |access-date=August 30, 2017 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Dana Milbank]] wrote that "President Trump has united us, after all. He brought together the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Jews."<ref>{{cite news |last=Milbank |first=Dana |author-link=Dana Milbank |date=August 28, 2017 |title=What did it take to finally unite Al Sharpton and Jews? Donald Trump. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-did-it-take-to-finally-unite-blacks-and-jews-donald-trump/2017/08/28/6b740d66-8c32-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 30, 2017}}</ref>

===George Floyd===
{{Main|Murder of George Floyd}}
At the funeral of [[George Floyd]] on June 4, 2020, Sharpton delivered a eulogy where he called for the four Minneapolis policemen involved in Floyd's murder to be brought to justice. He also criticized President [[Donald Trump]] for his talk about "bringing in the military" when "some kids wrongly start violence that this family doesn't condone" and that Trump has "not said one word about 8 minutes and 46 seconds of police murder of George Floyd".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Emmrich |first1=Stuart |date=June 10, 2020 |title=The Most Moving Moment of Al Sharpton's Eulogy for George Floyd |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/al-sharpton-george-floyd-funeral-eulogy |website=Vogue |access-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref> On April 20, 2021, with the conviction of [[Derek Chauvin]] for [[Murder of George Floyd|murdering]] George Floyd, Sharpton led prayer with the Floyd family in Minneapolis.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chavez |first1=Nicole |date=April 21, 2021 |title=George Floyd's family says verdict is a 'victory for many' but the fight for justice is not over |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/20/us/family-george-floyd-verdict-reaction/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref>

===Kwanzaa and Hanukkah===
In December 2022, taking a stand together against the increasing instances of racism and antisemitism in the United States, Sharpton, New York City Mayor [[Eric Adams]], [[Vista Equity Partners]] CEO and [[Carnegie Hall]] Chairman [[Robert F. Smith (investor)|Robert F. Smith]], Reverend [[Conrad Tillard]], World Values Network founder and CEO Rabbi [[Shmuley Boteach]], and [[Elisha Wiesel]] joined to host 15 Days of Light, celebrating [[Hanukkah]] and [[Kwanzaa]] in a unifying holiday ceremony at Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/12/21/mayor-eric-adams-the-rev-al-sharpton-others-gather-for-joint-kwanzaa-hanukkah-celebration/|title=Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, others gather for joint Kwanzaa, Hanukkah celebration|date=December 21, 2022|website=New York Amsterdam News}}</ref><ref name="auto11a">{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/news/529652/kwanzakkah-a-way-to-celebrate-dual-heritage-and-combat-hate/|title=Kwanzakkah: A way to celebrate dual heritage, and combat hate|date=December 23, 2022|author= Stewart Ain and TaRessa Stovall|website=The Forward}}</ref> Sharpton said: "There is never a time more needed than now for Blacks and Jews to remember the struggle that we've gone through. You can't fight for anybody if you don't fight for everybody. I cannot fight for Black rights if I don't fight for Jewish rights ... because then it becomes a matter of self-aggrandizement rather than fighting for humanity.&nbsp;It's easy for Blacks to stand up for racism. It's easy for Jews to stand up to antisemitism. But if you want to really be a leader, you got to speak as a Black against antisemitism and antisemites, and you got to speak as a Jew against racism."<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/wire/mayor-eric-adams-rev-al-sharpton-robert-f-smith-robert-f-smith-rev-conrad-tillard-rabbi-shmuley-boteach-and-elisha-wiesel-join-together-to-host-15-days-of-light-celebrating-hanukkah-and/|title=Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, Robert F. Smith, Robert F. Smith, Rev. Conrad Tillard, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Elisha Wiesel join together to host '15 Days of Light,' celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa|website=JNS}}</ref><ref name="auto13a">{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/black-jewish-leaders-gather-carnegie-032200862.html|title=Black and Jewish Leaders Gather at Carnegie Hall to Take a Stand Against Antisemitism and Racism|website=Yahoo|date=December 20, 2022|access-date=December 28, 2022|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225013742/https://www.yahoo.com/now/black-jewish-leaders-gather-carnegie-032200862.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Tyre Nichols ===
{{Main|Killing of Tyre Nichols}}
At the funeral of Tyre Nichols on February 2, 2023, Sharpton delivered the eulogy for the service.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-01 |title=A father 'gone too soon': Tyre Nichols funeral held in Memphis |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64479739 |access-date=2023-02-01}}</ref> He, alongside vice president [[Kamala Harris]], called on lawmakers to approve the [[George Floyd Justice in Policing Act]] and other police reforms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-01 |title=Impassioned calls for police reform at Tyre Nichols' funeral |url=https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-funeral-175130f120b1aae35c4c07a65ee6dd09 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

==Political views==
[[File:Al Sharpton (2797006183).jpg|thumb|right|Sharpton attending the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]]]]
[[File:Educational Excellence for African Americans Executive Order Signing.jpg|thumb|Sharpton watches as President [[Barack Obama]] signs an [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13621 executive order] on July 26, 2012]]
In September 2007, Sharpton was asked whether he considered it important for the US to have a black president. He responded, "It would be a great moment as long as the black candidate was supporting the interest that would inevitably help our people. A lot of my friends went with [[Clarence Thomas]] and regret it to this day. I don't assume that just because somebody's my color, they're my kind. But I'm warming up to [[Barack Obama|Obama]], but I'm not there yet."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vibe.com/obama/2007/08/sharpton_obama/ |title=Al Sharpton on Barack Obama |access-date=January 15, 2008 |first=Keith |last=Murphy |date=August 1, 2007 |work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102150253/http://www.vibe.com/obama/2007/08/sharpton_obama/ |archive-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref>

Sharpton has spoken out against [[cruelty to animals]] in a video recorded for [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]].<ref name="KFC">[http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/sharpton.asp Rev. Al Sharpton Preaches Compassion for Chickens] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023055548/http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/sharpton.asp |date=October 23, 2005 }}, Kentuckyfriedcruelty.com, Retrieved April 7, 2007</ref>

Sharpton is a supporter of equal rights for [[gay]]s and [[lesbian]]s and [[same-sex marriage]]. During [[Al Sharpton 2004 presidential campaign|his 2004 presidential campaign]], Sharpton said he thought it was insulting to be asked to discuss the issue of gay marriage. "It's like asking do I support black marriage or white marriage.... The inference of the question is that gays are not like other human beings."<ref>{{cite news |title=Democrats divided on gay marriage |first=Marc |last=Sandalow |date=July 16, 2003 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/16/MN75663.DTL |access-date=January 11, 2008 |newspaper=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Sharpton is leading a grassroots movement to eliminate [[homophobia]] within the [[Black church]].<ref name="hrc">[http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=30734&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm Sharpton Chides Black Churches Over Homophobia, Gay Marriage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228225444/http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=30734&TEMPLATE=%2FContentManagement%2FContentDisplay.cfm |date=February 28, 2009 }}, Dyana Bagby, Houston Voice, January 24, 2006</ref>

In 2014, Sharpton began a push for [[Criminal justice reform in the United States|criminal justice reform]], citing the fact that black people represent a greater proportion of those arrested and incarcerated in America.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouie |first1=Jamelle |title=Broken Windows Policing Kills People |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/broken_windows_policing_deaths_racism_in_chokeholds_arrests_and_convictions.html |website=www.slate.com |date=August 5, 2014 |publisher=Slate |access-date=August 6, 2014}}</ref>

In August 2017, Sharpton called for the federal government to stop maintaining the [[Jefferson Memorial]] in Washington, D.C., because [[Thomas Jefferson]] [[Thomas Jefferson and slavery|owned 600 slaves]] and had a sexually abusive relationship with his [[Slavery|slave]] [[Sally Hemings]]. He said taxpayer funds should not be used to care for monuments to slave-owners and that private museums were preferable. He went on to elaborate: "People need to understand that people were enslaved. Our families were victims of this. Public monuments [to people like Jefferson] are supported by public funds. You're asking me to subsidize the insult to my family."<ref>[http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/08/16/al-sharpton-jefferson-memorial-charlottesville-white-supremacist-violence-donald-trump "Al Sharpton: Defund the Jefferson Memorial"]. Fox News. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017</ref>

Sharpton is an opponent of the [[Defund the Police]] movement, charging that the idea is being pushed by "[[latte liberal]]s" who were out of touch with the African-American community, and that black and poor neighbourhoods "need proper policing" to protect the inhabitants from higher crime rates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/515448-msnbcs-sharpton-defunding-police-something-a-latte-liberal-may-go-for|title=MSNBC's Sharpton: Defunding police 'something a latte liberal may go for'|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|author=Joe Concha}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/al-sharpton-defund-the-police-is-just-something-latte-liberals-support|title=Al Sharpton: Defund the Police Is Just Something 'Latte Liberals' Support|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|author=Justin Baragona}}</ref>

==Reputation==
[[File:President Joe Biden poses for a photo with Al Sharpton and Nancy Pelosi (52635231033).jpg|thumb|Sharpton with President [[Joe Biden]] and Representative [[Nancy Pelosi]] in 2023]]
Sharpton's supporters praise "his ability and willingness to defy the power structure that is seen as the cause of their suffering"<ref name="Taylor127">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Clarence |title=Black Religious Intellectuals: The Fight for Equality from Jim Crow to the 21st Century |year=2002 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=London, England|isbn=0-415-93326-9 |page=127}}</ref> and consider him "a man who is willing to tell it like it is".<ref name="Taylor127" /> Former [[Mayor of New York City]] [[Ed Koch]], one-time foe, said that Sharpton deserves the respect he enjoys among black Americans: "He is willing to go to jail for them, and he is there when they need him."<ref name=Taxes>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-09-3272597865_x.htm |title=Records show Sharpton owes overdue taxes, other penalties |access-date=April 15, 2012 |last=Caruso |first=David B. |date=May 9, 2008 |work=[[USA Today]]|location=McLean, Virginia}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] said that Sharpton is "the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thegrio.com/2014/02/06/thegrios-100-rev-al-sharpton-taking-his-activist-fight-to-the-airwaves |title=theGrio's 100: Rev. Al Sharpton, Taking His Activist Fight to the Airwaves |date=February 6, 2014 |work=[[The Grio]] |access-date=June 3, 2014}}</ref> A 2013 [[IBOPE Zogby International|Zogby Analytics]] poll found that one quarter of African Americans said that Sharpton speaks for them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thegrio.com/2013/03/28/black-america-doesnt-lack-leaders/ |title=Black America Doesn't Lack Leaders: Poll Shows 24 Percent Say Sharpton Speaks for Them |first=Earl Ofari |last=Hutchinson |author-link=Earl Ofari Hutchinson |website=[[The Grio]] |date=March 28, 2013 |access-date=July 11, 2013}}</ref>

His critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part, for the deterioration of race relations".<ref name="Taylor118">{{cite book |first=Clarence|last=Taylor |title=Black Religious Intellectuals |publisher=[[Psychology Press]]|location=London, England|date=2002|isbn=9780415933261|page=118}}</ref> Sociologist [[Orlando Patterson]] has referred to him as a racial arsonist,<ref name="Taylor120">{{cite book |last=Taylor |title=Black Religious Intellectuals |page=120}}</ref> while [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] columnist [[Derrick Z. Jackson]] has called him the black equivalent of [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Pat Buchanan]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson |first1=Derrick Z. |title=Uneasy about Sharpton |url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/Uneasy_about_Sharpton+.shtml |website=Boston Globe |access-date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030621220433/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/Uneasy_about_Sharpton%2B.shtml |archive-date=June 21, 2003 |date=February 25, 2000 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sharpton sees much of the criticism as a sign of his effectiveness. "In many ways, what they consider criticism is complimenting my job," he said. "An activist's job is to make public civil rights issues until there can be a climate for change."<ref name=DS/>

==Controversies==
===Tobacco industry funding===
In 2021, Sharpton was criticized for leading a tobacco industry pushback against a proposed ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes using "cynically manipulative" arguments while his National Action Network accepted funding from tobacco companies.<ref>STAT News, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210728105025/https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/26/menthol-cigarettes-social-justice-theory-should-not-trump-science/ "On menthol cigarettes, social justice theory shouldn’t trump science"], 26 July 2021</ref>

===Comments on Mormons===
During 2007, Sharpton was accused of bigotry for comments he made in a debate with [[Christopher Hitchens]] on May 7, 2007, concerning presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] and his religion, [[Mormonism]]:

{{blockquote|As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/09/romney.sharpton.ap/ Sharpton accused of 'bigotry' after remark on faith] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510134247/http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/09/romney.sharpton.ap/ |date=May 10, 2007 }}, CNN, May 9, 2007.</ref>}}

In response, a representative for Romney told reporters that "bigotry toward anyone because of their beliefs is unacceptable."<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-05-09-sharpton-romney_N.htm Sharpton denies disputing Romney's faith], ''[[USA Today]]'', May 9, 2007.</ref> The [[Catholic League (U.S.)|Catholic League]] compared Sharpton to [[Don Imus]], and said that his remarks "should finish his career".<ref>[http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1203563 Catholic League Calls For End of Sharpton's Career], KSL-TV, May 10, 2007.</ref>

On May 9, during an interview on ''[[Paula Zahn NOW]]'', Sharpton said that his views on Mormonism were based on the "[[Black people and Mormonism|Mormon Church's traditionally racist views regarding blacks]]" and its interpretation of the so-called "[[Curse of Ham#In the Latter-day Saint Movement|Curse of Ham]]".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/us/politics/10romney.html "Romney Accuses Sharpton of a Bigoted Remark"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 10, 2007.</ref> On May 10, Sharpton called two [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] and apologized to them for his remarks and asked to meet with them.<ref>[http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660219496,00.html Sharpton apologizes to LDS Church apostles] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512042551/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C660219496%2C00.html |date=May 12, 2007 }}, ''[[Deseret News]]'', May 10, 2007.</ref> A spokesman for the Church confirmed that Sharpton had called and said that "we appreciate it very much, Rev. Sharpton's call, and we consider the matter closed."<ref name="Deseret">[http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660219703,00.html Sharpton apologizes, plans Utah trip] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513032351/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C660219703%2C00.html |date=May 13, 2007 }}, ''[[Deseret News]]'', May 11, 2007.</ref> He also apologized to "any member of the Mormon church" who was offended by his comments.<ref name="Deseret" /> Later that month, Sharpton went to [[Salt Lake City]], Utah, where he met with Elder [[M. Russell Ballard]], a leader of the Church, and Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Church's [[Seventy (Latter Day Saints)|Presidency of the Seventy]].<ref>[http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=b34f19a4e80b2110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD The Rev. Al Sharpton Completes Visit to Church Headquarters]{{dead link|date=July 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsroom, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], May 22, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660222765,00.html 'Common ground'&nbsp;— Sharpton tours, meets with apostle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630120509/http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C660222765%2C00.html |date=June 30, 2007 }}, ''[[Deseret News]]'', May 22, 2007.</ref>

===Racial and homophobic comments===
On February 13, 1994, Sharpton told a student audience at [[Kean University]] in [[New Jersey]]: "White folks was in the caves while we was building empires," he said. "We built pyramids before [[Donald Trump]] even knew what architecture was. We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before [[Socrates]] and them Greek homos ever got around to it." Sharpton defended his comments by saying that the term "homo" was not homophobic; however, he added that he no longer uses the term.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2003/06/21/sharpton_7/|title=The skeletons and suits in Sharpton's closet|last=Tapper|first=Jake|date=June 21, 2003|website=Salon}}</ref> At the same lecture, he said, "Do some cracker come and tell you, 'Well my mother and father blood go back to the [[Mayflower]],' you better hold your pocket. That ain't nothing to be proud of, that means their forefathers was crooks."<ref name="Moynihan">{{citation|author=Moynihan, Daniel Patrick|title=Miles to Go: A Personal History of Social Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSXLSDHXACcC&pg=PA23|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1996|page=23|isbn=0674574400|author-link=Daniel Patrick Moynihan}}</ref>

On one occasion in 1992, he derided moderate black politicians close to the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] as "cocktail sip Negroes" or "yellow niggers".<ref>{{cite news|last1=MITCHELL|first1=ALISON|title=Sharpton's Headache: To Get Out the Vote|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/09/nyregion/sharpton-s-headache-to-get-out-the-vote.html|access-date=September 3, 2015|agency=The New York Times|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 9, 1992}}</ref>

===Tawana Brawley rape case===
{{Main|Tawana Brawley rape allegations}}
[[File:Al Sharpton to David Shankbone on whether he is tired of hearing about Tawana Brawley.ogg|thumb|Al Sharpton interviewed in 2007 on whether he is tired of hearing about Tawana Brawley 20 years later]]

On November 28, 1987, Tawana Brawley, a 15-year-old black girl, was found smeared with [[feces]], lying in a garbage bag, her clothing torn and burned and with various slurs and epithets written on her body in charcoal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/tawana-brawley-rape-allegations-sparks-racial-strife-1987-article-1.2445708|title=Tawana Brawley alleges being raped after she was found in a trash bag in 1987|website=New York Daily News|date=November 27, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite magazine |last=Sherman |first=Scott |date=March 30, 2001 |title=He Has a Dream |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/he-has-dream/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707082300/https://www.thenation.com/article/he-has-dream/ |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |url-status=dead |magazine=[[The Nation]] |access-date=July 7, 2019}}</ref> Brawley claimed she had been assaulted and [[rape]]d by six white men, some of them police officers, in the town of [[Wappinger, New York]].<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/booming/revisiting-the-tawana-brawley-rape-scandal.html|title=Revisiting a Rape Scandal That Would Have Been Monstrous if True|first=Michael|last=Winerip|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tawana-brawley-hoax_n_3709058|title=Woman Who Created Rape Hoax Forced to Pay Damages|date=August 5, 2013|website=HuffPost}}</ref>

Attorneys [[Alton H. Maddox]] and [[C. Vernon Mason]] joined Sharpton in support of Brawley. A [[grand jury]] was convened; after seven months of examining police and medical records, the jury found "overwhelming evidence" that Brawley had fabricated her story.<ref name="Evidence Points">{{cite news |title=Evidence Points to Deceit by Brawley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/27/nyregion/evidence-points-to-deceit-by-brawley.html?pagewanted=all |work=[[The New York Times]] |quote=A seven-month New York State grand jury inquiry has compiled overwhelming evidence that Tawana Brawley fabricated her story of abduction and sexual abuse by a gang of racist white men last year, according to investigators, witnesses and official summaries of evidence presented to the panel. |date=September 27, 1988 |access-date=January 20, 2008}}</ref> Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason had accused the [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess County]] prosecutor, [[Steven Pagones]], of racism and of being one of the perpetrators of the alleged abduction and rape. The three were successfully sued for defamation, and were ordered to pay $345,000 in damages, with the jury finding Sharpton liable for making seven defamatory statements about Pagones, Maddox for two, and Mason for one.<ref name=cnn-1998-01-14>{{cite news |title=Winner in Brawley suit says victory is bittersweet |date=January 14, 1998 |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9807/13/brawley.verdict.02/ |work=CNN|access-date=April 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320025016/http://www.cnn.com/US/9807/13/brawley.verdict.02/ |archive-date=March 20, 2007}}</ref> Sharpton refused to pay his share of the damages; it was later paid by a number of black business leaders including [[Johnnie Cochran]].<ref name=closet>{{cite news|title=The skeletons and suits in Sharpton's closet |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/06/20/sharpton/index.html?pn=2 |work=Salon |access-date=April 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418001602/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/06/20/sharpton/index.html?pn=2 |archive-date=April 18, 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Sharpton said in 2007 that if he had it to do over again, he might have not attacked Pagones personally, but would otherwise have handled the Brawley case the same way. He added: "I disagreed with the grand jury on Brawley. I believed there was enough evidence to go to trial. Grand jury said there wasn't. Okay, fine. Do I have a right to disagree with the grand jury? Many Americans believe [[O. J. Simpson]] was guilty. A jury said he wasn't. So I have as much right to question a jury as they do. Does it make somebody a racist? No! They just disagreed with the jury. So did I."<ref name=DS>[[n:Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics|Interview with Al Sharpton]], David Shankbone, ''[[Wikinews]]'', December 3, 2007.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2020}}

Michael Hardy, who served as defense lawyer for Sharpton in Pagones' defamation case against him, would becoming a key founding member of [[National Action Network]], serving as Executive Vice President and later also becoming General Counsel in 2008.<ref name=sharptonlawyerandrighthandman>{{cite news|url=https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2024/07/22/national-action-network-general-counsel-evp-michael-hardy-dies-sharpton/|title=Longtime National Action Network EVP and General Counsel Michael Hardy, Esq. passes away|publisher=New York Amsterdam News|date=July 22, 2024|accessdate=July 25, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/us/michael-hardy-dead.html|title=Michael Hardy, Sharpton's Longtime Lawyer and Confidant, Dies at 69|first=Sam|last=Roberts|work=New York Times|date=July 25, 2024|accessdate=July 25, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalactionnetwork.net/staff/michael-a-hardy/|title=Michael A. Hardy, Esq.|publisher=National Action Network|accessdate=July 25, 2024}}</ref> Hardy served with Sharpton's organization until his death in July 2024.<ref name=sharptonlawyerandrighthandman />

===Work as FBI informant===
Sharpton said in 1988 that he informed for the government in order to stem the flow of crack cocaine into black neighborhoods. He denied informing on civil rights leaders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/21/nyregion/protest-figure-reported-to-be-a-us-informant.html |title=Protest Figure Reported To Be a U.S. Informant |first=M. A. |last=Farber |date=January 21, 1988 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/24/nyregion/sharpton-champion-or-opportunist.html |title=Sharpton: Champion or Opportunist? |first=M. A. |last=Farber |date=February 24, 1988 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.corenyc.org/omeka/items/show/109 |title=Minister and Informant |work=Newsday |date=January 20, 1988 |first1=Bob |last1=Drury |first2=Robert E. |last2=Kessler |first3=Mike |last3=McAlary |access-date=March 12, 2014}}</ref>

In 2002, HBO's ''[[Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel]]'' aired a 19-year-old FBI videotape of an undercover sting operation showing Sharpton with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Latin American drug lord. During the discussion, the undercover agent offered Sharpton a 10% commission for arranging drug sales. On the videotape, Sharpton mostly nods and allows the FBI agent to do most of the talking. No drug deal was ever consummated, and no charges were brought against Sharpton as a result of the tape.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/25/nyregion/a-19-year-old-fbi-videotape-keeps-pulling-sharpton-back-to-the-past.html |title=A 19-Year-Old F.B.I. Videotape Keeps Pulling Sharpton Back to the Past |first1=Ralph |last1=Blumenthal |first2=Susan |last2=Saulny |date=July 25, 2002 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref>

In April 2014, [[The Smoking Gun]] obtained documents indicating that Sharpton became an [[FBI]] informant in 1983 following Sharpton's role in a drug sting involving [[Colombo crime family]] captain [[Michael Franzese]]. Sharpton allegedly recorded incriminating conversations with [[Genovese crime family|Genovese]] and [[Gambino crime family|Gambino]] family mobsters, contributing to the indictments of several underworld figures. Sharpton is referred to in FBI documents as "CI-7".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/investigation/al-sharpton-764312 |title=Al Sharpton's Secret Work As FBI Informant |publisher=The Smoking Gun |date=April 7, 2014}}</ref>

Summarizing the evidence supporting that Sharpton was an active FBI informant in the 1980s, [[William Bastone]], the Smoking Gun's founder, stated: "If he (Sharpton) didn't think he was an informant, the 'Genovese squad' of the FBI and NYPD officials sure knew him to be an informant. He was paid to be an informant, he carried a briefcase with a recording device in it, and he made surreptitious tape recordings of a Gambino crime family member 10 separate times as an informant. He did it at the direction of the FBI, he was prepped by the FBI, was handed the briefcase by the FBI and was debriefed after the meetings. That's an informant."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/08/al-sharpton-fbi-informant-claims-are-embellished-crazy-a-stretch.html |title=Al Sharpton: I'm No Snitch |website=The Daily Beast |date=April 8, 2014}}</ref> Sharpton disputes portions of the allegations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/08/sharpton-fbi-informant/7457761/ |title=Al Sharpton downplays claims he was an FBI informant |newspaper=USA Today |date=April 8, 2014}}</ref>

Sharpton is alleged to have secretly recorded conversations with black activists in the 1980s regarding Joanne Chesimard ([[Assata Shakur]]) and other underground black militants. Veteran activist Ahmed Obafemi told the [[New York Daily News|New York ''Daily News'']] that he had long suspected Sharpton of taping him with the bugged briefcase.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/activist-recalls-1983-meeting-sharpton-bugged-briefcase-article-1.1754857| author = Ron Howell | title = Ahmed Obafemi recalls 1983 meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton and his bugged briefcase | work = Daily News |location=New York | date = April 13, 2014}}</ref>

===Tax issues===
In 1993, Sharpton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for failing to file a state income tax return. Later, the authorities discovered that one of Sharpton's for-profit companies, Raw Talent, which he used as a repository for money from speaking engagements, was also not paying taxes, a failure that continued for years.<ref name="Buettner">{{cite news |title=Questions About Sharpton's Finances Accompany His Rise in Influence |first=Russ |last=Buettner |date=November 18, 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html |access-date=December 12, 2014}}</ref>

On May 9, 2008, the [[Associated Press]] reported that Sharpton and his businesses owed almost $1.5&nbsp;million in unpaid taxes and penalties. Sharpton owed $931,000 in federal income tax and $366,000 to New York, and his for-profit company, Rev. Al Communications, owed another $176,000 to the state.<ref name="Taxes" />

The [[Internal Revenue Service]] sent [[subpoena]]s to several corporations that had donated to Sharpton's [[National Action Network]]. Sharpton countered the investigative actions with a charge that they reflected a political agenda by United States agencies.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Marzulli |title=Sharpton gets big gun to fend off feds |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/06/19/2008-06-19_sharpton_gets_big_gun_to_fend_off_feds.html |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |date=June 20, 2008 |access-date=June 20, 2008 |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623192331/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/06/19/2008-06-19_sharpton_gets_big_gun_to_fend_off_feds.html |archive-date=June 23, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On September 29, 2010, Robert Snell of ''[[The Detroit News]]'' reported that the Internal Revenue Service had filed a notice of federal [[tax lien]] against Sharpton in New York City in the amount of over $538,000.<ref name=snell>Robert Snell, "Sharpton faced with fresh tax woe," ''[[The Detroit News]]'', September 29, 2010, at {{cite web|url=http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/taxingdetroitblog/index.php?blogid%3D79 |title=DETNEWS &#124; Weblogs &#124; Tax Watchdog |access-date=October 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101005074009/http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/taxingdetroitblog/index.php?blogid=79 |archive-date=October 5, 2010  }}.</ref> Sharpton's lawyer asserts that the notice of federal tax lien relates to Sharpton's year 2009 federal income tax return, the due date of which has been extended to October 15, 2010, according to the lawyer. However, the Snell report states that the lien relates to taxes ''assessed during 2009''.<ref name=snell/>

According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', Sharpton and his for-profit businesses owed $4.5 million in state and federal taxes as of November 2014.<ref name="Buettner"/>

==Personal life==
In 1971 while touring with [[James Brown]], Sharpton met future wife Kathy Jordan, who was a backing singer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/sharptonprofile.htm |title=Campaign 2004: Alfred Sharpton |date=May 20, 2005 |access-date=June 19, 2007 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> Sharpton and Jordan married in 1980.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_14_100/ai_78729057 |title=Rev. Al Sharpton And Wife Kathy Renew Their Wedding Vows |date=January 17, 2001 |access-date=June 19, 2007 |work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]}}</ref> The couple separated in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-11-07-sharpton_x.htm |title=Al Sharpton, wife announce separation |date=November 7, 2004 |access-date=July 10, 2007 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> They have two daughters, Ashley and Dominique.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalactionnetwork.net/staff/dominique-sharpton/|title=Dominique Sharpton: Director of Membership|accessdate=July 25, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalactionnetwork.net/staff/ashley-sharpton/|title=Ashley Sharpton: Founder & Director of NAN Youth Huddle|publisher=National Action Network|accessdate=July 25, 2024}}</ref> In July 2013, the [[Daily News (New York)|New York ''Daily News'']] reported that Sharpton, while still married to his second wife (Kathy Jordan),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/us/al-sharpton-fast-facts |title=Al Sharpton Fast Facts |date=March 27, 2013 |access-date=July 25, 2013 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> now had a self-described "girlfriend", Aisha McShaw,<ref>{{cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Fermino |date=July 17, 2013 |title=Al Sharpton finds new love in a decades-younger Westchester stylist |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/al-sharpton-finds-new-love-decades-younger-article-1.1400703 |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York}}</ref> aged 35, and that the couple had "been an item for months.... photographed at elegant bashes all over the country". McShaw, the ''Daily News'' reported, referred to herself professionally as both a "personal stylist" and "personal banker".

Sharpton is an honorary member of [[Phi Beta Sigma]] fraternity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs1914.org/press_releases/rev._al_sharpton_inducted_into_phi_beta_sigma |title=Rev. Al Sharpton Inducted into Phi Beta Sigma |publisher=Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. |access-date=March 12, 2012 |year=2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227170610/http://www.pbs1914.org/press_releases/rev._al_sharpton_inducted_into_phi_beta_sigma/ |archive-date=December 27, 2011 }}</ref>

===Religion===
Sharpton was licensed and ordained a [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] minister by Bishop [[F. D. Washington]] at the age of nine<ref name=NPR>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/transcripts/sharpton_trans.html |title=Al Sharpton Interview Transcript |date=June 13, 2003 |access-date=June 19, 2007 |work=[[Morning Edition]] |publisher=[[NPR|National Public Radio]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609062909/http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/transcripts/sharpton_trans.html |archive-date=June 9, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> or ten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greatertalent.com/AlSharpton |title=Reverend Al Sharpton |access-date=May 11, 2008 |publisher=Greater Talent Network Speakers Bureau |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523203408/http://www.greatertalent.com/AlSharpton |archive-date=May 23, 2008}}</ref> After Bishop Washington's death in the late 1980s, Sharpton became a [[Progressive National Baptist Convention|Baptist]]. He was re-baptized as a member of the Bethany Baptist Church in 1994 by the Reverend [[William Augustus Jones Jr.|William Augustus Jones]]<ref name=NAN>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/html/history.html |title=Reverend Al Sharpton's Bio |author=Stefan Friedman |access-date=June 19, 2007 |publisher=[[National Action Network]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519171359/http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/html/history.html |archive-date=May 19, 2007}}</ref> and became a Baptist minister.<ref name=NPR/><ref name="Jones NYT">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Charisse |title=Sharpton Is Rebaptized As Baptist in Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/07/nyregion/sharpton-is-rebaptized-as-baptist-in-brooklyn.html|date= February 7, 1994|access-date=December 23, 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

During 2007, Sharpton participated in a public debate with [[Atheism|atheist]] writer [[Christopher Hitchens]], defending his religious faith and his [[theism|belief in the existence of God]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nysun.com/article/54047 |title=Hitchens, Sharpton Spar Over the Almighty |author=Matthew Chayes |date=May 8, 2007 |access-date=July 3, 2007 |work=[[The New York Sun]] |archive-date=January 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125032918/http://www.nysun.com/article/54047 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091019013409/http://fora.tv/2007/05/07/Al_Sharpton_and_Christopher_Hitchens/#fullprogram "Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens."]}} [[FORA.tv]]. May 7, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2009.</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=ChristopherHitchslap|title=Christopher Hitchens Debates Al Sharpton - New York Public|date=December 6, 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPYxA8dYLBY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/HPYxA8dYLBY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=May 10, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Assassination attempt===
[[File:Ps205.jpg|The schoolyard of P.S. 205 in Brooklyn, c. 1991|thumb]]
On January 12, 1991, Sharpton escaped serious injury when he was stabbed in the chest in the schoolyard at P.S. 205<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/nyregion/sharpton-is-stabbed-at-bensonhurst-protest.html |work=The New York Times |first=Robert D. |last=McFadden |title=Sharpton Is Stabbed at Bensonhurst Protest |date=January 13, 1991}}</ref> by Michael Riccardi while Sharpton was preparing to lead a protest through [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York. The intoxicated attacker was apprehended by Sharpton's aides and handed over to police, who were present for the planned protest.

In 1992, Riccardi was convicted of first-degree assault. Sharpton asked the judge for leniency when sentencing Riccardi.<ref name="lueck"/> The judge sentenced Riccardi to five to 15 years in jail,<ref>Daniels, Lee A. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/17/nyregion/attacker-of-sharpton-is-sentenced.html "Attacker of Sharpton Is Sentenced"]. ''The New York Times'', March 17, 1992.</ref> and he served ten years in prison<ref name="lueck"/> being released on parole on January 8, 2001.

Sharpton, although forgiving his attacker and pleading for leniency on his behalf, filed suit against New York City alleging that the many police present had failed to protect him from his attacker. In December 2003, he finally reached a $200,000 settlement with the city just as jury selection was about to start.<ref name="lueck">Lueck, Thomas. [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/09/nyregion/city-settles-sharpton-suit-over-stabbing-480789.html "City Settles Sharpton Suit Over Stabbing"]. ''The New York Times'', December 9, 2003.</ref>

===Indirect connection to Strom Thurmond===
{{see also|Strom Thurmond}}
In February 2007, genealogist [[Megan Smolenyak]] discovered that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a [[slave]] owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was [[Strom Thurmond]]'s great-great-grandfather.<ref>Fernanda Santos, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/nyregion/26sharpton.html Sharpton Learns His Forebears Were Thurmonds' Slaves], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 26, 2007.</ref> Coleman Sharpton was later freed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/report-al-sharptons-ancestors-were-slaves-owned-by-strom-thurmonds-relatives |title=Report: Al Sharpton's Ancestors Were Slaves Owned by Strom Thurmond's Relatives |date=February 25, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Fox News |access-date=April 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118184749/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254482,00.html |archive-date=November 18, 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The Sharpton family name originated with Coleman Sharpton's previous owner, who was named Alexander Sharpton.<ref>Al Sharpton Jr.,
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140422064451/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-sharpton1mar01,0,7761346,print.story My link to Strom Thurmond], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', March 1, 2007.</ref>

== Political campaigns ==
Sharpton has run unsuccessfully for elected office on multiple occasions. Of his unsuccessful runs, he said that winning office may not have been his goal, saying in an interview: "Much of the media criticism of me assumes their goals and they impose them on me. Well, those might not be my goals. So they will say, 'Well, Sharpton has not won a political office.' But that might not be my goal! Maybe I ran for political office to change the debate, or to raise the social justice question."<ref name=DS/> Sharpton ran for a [[United States Senate]] seat from New York in [[1988 United States Senate election in New York|1988]], [[1992 United States Senate election in New York|1992]], and [[1994 United States Senate election in New York|1994]]. In [[1997 New York City mayoral election|1997]], he ran for Mayor of New York City. During his 1992 bid, he and his wife lived in a home in [[Englewood, New Jersey]], though he said his residence was an apartment in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6eUcAAAAIBAJ&dq=al-sharpton%20englewood&pg=6468%2C2435939|title=Sharpton to run for U.S. Senate|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Press]]|publisher=E.W. Scripts Company|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|date=January 21, 1992|access-date=February 17, 2011|quote=Sharpton, who lives with his wife and two daughters in Englewood, N.J., and also shares an apartment in Brooklyn with a friend, said his legal residence was New York.}}</ref>

On December 15, 2005, Sharpton agreed to repay $100,000 in public funds he received from the federal government for his 2004 presidential campaign. The repayment was required because Sharpton had exceeded federal limits on personal expenditures for his campaign. At that time, his most recent [[Federal Election Commission]] filings (from January 1, 2005) stated that Sharpton's campaign still had debts of $479,050 and owed Sharpton himself $145,146 for an item listed as "Fundraising Letter Preparation — Kinko's".<ref>{{cite news |title=Sharpton Returns Public Funds |date=December 16, 2007 |location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121501824.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 6, 2007}}</ref>

In 2009, the Federal Election Commission announced it had levied a fine of $285,000 against Sharpton's 2004 presidential campaign team for breaking campaign finance rules during his bid for President.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2009/20090430MUR_Sharpton.shtml |title=FEC Reaches Settlement with Rev. Al Sharpton, Sharpton 2004 and Non-profit Corporation |date=April 30, 2009 |access-date=September 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813023318/http://fec.gov/press/press2009/20090430MUR_Sharpton.shtml |archive-date=August 13, 2009 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009154219_apussharptoncampaignfine.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714054617/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009154219_apussharptoncampaignfine.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Sharpton fined, but feels vindicated in FEC probe |first=David B.|last=Caruso |date=April 30, 2009 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref>

Sharpton said in 2007 that he would not enter the 2008 presidential race.<ref name="dailynews">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/04/02/2007-04-02_rev_al_is_bowing_out.html|title=Rev. Al is Bowing Out|newspaper=Daily News|location=New York City|date=April 2, 2007|access-date=April 7, 2007}}</ref>

=== Electoral history ===
==== U.S. Senate (1992, 1994) ====
{{election box begin no change
 | title      = [[1992 United States Senate election in New York|1992 U.S. Senate election in New York]], Democratic primary<ref>{{cite web|date=September 15, 1992|title=U.S. Senate Democratic primary election results (New York, 1992)|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=26017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830223038/https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=26017|archive-date=August 30, 2020|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=Our Campaigns}}</ref>
}}
{{election box winning candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Robert Abrams]]
 | votes      = 426,904
 | percentage = 37.02%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Geraldine Ferraro]]
 | votes      = 415,650
 | percentage = 36.04%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Al Sharpton
 | votes      = 166,665
 | percentage = 14.45%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Elizabeth Holtzman]]
 | votes      = 144,026
 | percentage = 12.49%
}}
{{election box total no change
 | votes      = 1,153,245
 | percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{election box end}}

{{election box begin no change
 | title      = [[1994 United States Senate election in New York|1994 U.S. Senate election in New York]], Democratic primary<ref>{{cite web|date=September 13, 1994|title=U.S. Senate Democratic primary election results (New York, 1994)|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=88211|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314203717/https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=88211|archive-date=March 14, 2016|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=Our Campaigns}}</ref>
}}
{{election box winning candidate with party link no change
 | candidate  = [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] (inc.)
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | votes      = 526,766
 | percentage = 74.72%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | candidate  = Al Sharpton
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | votes      = 178,231
 | percentage = 25.28%
}}
{{election box total no change
 | votes      = 704,997
 | percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{election box end}}

==== Mayor of New York City (1997) ====
{{election box begin no change
 | title      = [[1997 New York City mayoral election]], Democratic primary<ref>{{cite web|date=September 9, 1997|title=New York City mayoral Democratic primary election results (1997)|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52545|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126191233/https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52545|archive-date=November 26, 2021|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=Our Campaigns}}</ref>
}}
{{election box winning candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Ruth Messinger]]
 | votes      = 165,377
 | percentage = 40.19%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Al Sharpton
 | votes      = 131,848
 | percentage = 32.04%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Sal Albanese]]
 | votes      = 86,485
 | percentage = 21.02%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Eric Ruano-Melendez
 | votes      = 17,663
 | percentage = 4.29%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Roland Rogers
 | votes      = 10,086
 | percentage = 2.45%
}}
{{election box total no change
 | votes      = 411,459
 | percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{election box end}}

==== President of the United States (2004) ====
{{election box begin no change
 | title      = [[2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries]]<ref>{{cite web|date=July 29, 2004|title=Democratic presidential primary election results (2004)|url=https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P04/D.phtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228055939/https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P04/D.phtml|archive-date=February 28, 2021|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=[[The Green Papers]]}}</ref>
}}
{{election box winning candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[John Kerry]]
 | votes      = 10,045,891
 | percentage = 60.75%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[John Edwards]]
 | votes      = 3,207,048
 | percentage = 19.39%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Howard Dean]]
 | votes      = 937,015
 | percentage = 5.67%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Dennis Kucinich]]
 | votes      = 643,067
 | percentage = 3.89%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Wesley Clark]]
 | votes      = 572,207
 | percentage = 3.46%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Al Sharpton
 | votes      = 383,683
 | percentage = 2.32%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = ''Uncommitted''
 | votes      = 155,388
 | percentage = 0.94%
}}
{{election box candidate with party link no change
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = ''Others''
 | votes      = 591,524
 | percentage = 3.58%
}}
{{election box total no change
 | votes      = 16,535,823
 | percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{election box end}}

==Television appearances==
[[File:Al sharpton book signing in marcus garvey park.JPG|thumb|Sharpton at a book-signing in Harlem, 2008]]

Sharpton has made [[cameo appearance]]s in the movies ''Cold Feet'', ''[[Bamboozled]]'', ''[[Mr. Deeds]]'', and ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0789314/ |title=Al Shaprton |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=June 12, 2012}}</ref> He also has appeared in episodes of the television shows ''[[New York Undercover]]'', ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'', ''[[Girlfriends (U.S. TV series)|Girlfriends]]'', ''[[My Wife and Kids]]'', ''[[Rescue Me (U.S. TV series)|Rescue Me]]'' and ''[[Boston Legal]]''. He hosted the original [[Spike TV]] [[reality television]] show ''[[I Hate My Job]]'', and an episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. He was a guest on ''[[Weekends at the DL]]'' on [[Comedy Central]] and has been featured in television ads for the [[Fernando Ferrer]] campaign for the [[New York City mayoral election, 2005]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/nyregion/metrocampaigns/ads-in-the-mayoral-race-turn-meaner-on-the-eve-of.html |title=Ads in the Mayoral Race Turn Meaner on the Eve of the Final Debate |author=Jim Rutenberg and [[Diane Cardwell]] |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 1, 2005}}</ref> He also made a cameo appearance by telephone on the [[Food Network]] series, ''[[The Secret Life of... (TV series)|The Secret Life Of . . .]]'', when host Jim O'Connor expressed disbelief that a restaurant owner who'd named a dish after Sharpton actually knew him.

In 1988, during an appearance on ''[[The Morton Downey Jr. Show]]'', Sharpton and [[Congress of Racial Equality]] National Chairman [[Roy Innis]] got into a heated argument about the Tawana Brawley case and Innis shoved Sharpton to the floor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/10/nyregion/innis-shoves-sharpton-to-floor-at-tv-taping.html |title=Innis Shoves Sharpton to Floor at TV Taping |date=August 10, 1988 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref>

In 1999, Sharpton appeared in a documentary about black nationalism hosted by [[Louis Theroux]], as part of the [[Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends|"Weird Weekends"]] series.<ref name=louisdoco>{{cite web |title=Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, Black Nationalism |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815020/ |website=IMDb |access-date=January 31, 2015}}</ref>

During the 2005 [[Tony Awards]], Sharpton appeared in a number put on by the cast of ''[[The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114428-Goodbye-Spelling-Bee-Closes-on-Broadway-Jan-20 |title="Goodbye": Spelling Bee Closes on Broadway Jan. 20 |last=Hernandez |first=Ernio |date=January 20, 2008 |work=[[Playbill]] |access-date=April 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501105115/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114428-Goodbye-Spelling-Bee-Closes-on-Broadway-Jan-20 |archive-date=May 1, 2012 }}</ref>

===Broadcast hosting===
In June 2005, Sharpton signed a contract with Matrix Media to produce and host a live two-hour daily talk program, but it never aired.<ref name=Simon>{{cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2005/10/29/wild_to_air_new_african_american_talk_radio_network/ |title=WILD to air new African-American talk-radio network |last=Simon |first=Clea |date=October 29, 2005 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |access-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref> In November 2005, Sharpton signed with [[Radio One (Company)|Radio One]] to host a daily national talk radio program, which began airing on January 30, 2006, entitled ''[[Keepin It Real with Al Sharpton]]''.<ref name=Simon/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-07-29/politics/30070210_1_tv-one-nbc-merger-radio-one |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701153520/http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-07-29/politics/30070210_1_tv-one-nbc-merger-radio-one |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 1, 2012 |title=The Truth Behind Al Sharpton's Radio Power Play |last=Barrett |first=Wayne |author-link=Wayne Barrett |date=July 29, 2011 |website=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=April 15, 2012 }}</ref>

On August 29, 2011, Sharpton became the host of ''[[PoliticsNation]]'', the [[MSNBC]] show which originally aired weeknights during the 6:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time]] hour.<ref name = "msnbc_official"/> In October 2015 the program was moved to Sunday mornings, one hour per week.<ref name="thedailybeast.com"/> He continues to be a regular contributor to ''[[Morning Joe]]''.

== Books ==
Sharpton has written or co-written four books, ''Go and Tell Pharaoh'' with [[Anthony Walton (poet)|Anthony Walton]], ''Al on America'' with Karen Hunter, ''The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership'' with [[Nick Chiles]], and ''Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Al-Sharpton/e/B001H6L30M |title=Books by Al Sharpton |website=Amazon |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

* {{Cite book |last1=Sharpton |first1=Al |last2=Walton |first2=Anthony |author2-link=Anthony Walton (poet) |date=March 1, 1996 |title=Go and Tell Pharaoh: The Autobiography of the Reverend Al Sharpton |url=https://archive.org/details/gotellpharaohaut0000shar |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0385475839 |oclc=33948728}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sharpton |first=Al |author1-mask=2 |last2=Hunter |first2=Karen |date=2002 |title=Al on America |url=https://archive.org/details/alonamerica00reve |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Dafina Books |isbn=9780758203502 |oclc=50702495}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sharpton |first=Al |author1-mask=2 |last2=Chiles |first2=Nick |author2-link=Nick Chiles |date=October 8, 2013 |title=The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership |url=https://archive.org/details/rejectedstoneals0000alsh |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Cash Money Content |isbn=9781936399475 |oclc=857568135}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sharpton |first=Al |author1-mask=2 |date=September 29, 2020 |title=Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads |others=Foreword: Michael Eric Dyson |location=Toronto |publisher=Hanover Square Press |isbn=9781335966629 |oclc=1196187885}}

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Biography}}
* [[Abner Louima]]
* [[List of civil rights leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite news |title=A Day with Reverend Al Sharpton |last=Demeritt |first=Jennifer |date=June 2012 |work=[[Gotham (magazine)|Gotham]] |url=http://gotham-magazine.com/personalities/articles/a-day-in-the-life-of-reverend-al-sharpton|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629093219/http://gotham-magazine.com/personalities/articles/a-day-in-the-life-of-reverend-al-sharpton|archive-date=29 June 2012}}
* {{cite news|title=Sharpton Takes on His Critics |last=Salomon |first=Sheryl Huggins |date=August 27, 2011 |work=[[The Root (magazine)|The Root]] |url=http://www.theroot.com/views/sharpton-takes-his-critics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831151259/http://www.theroot.com/views/sharpton-takes-his-critics |archive-date=August 31, 2011 }}
* {{cite news |title=The Public Life and Private Doubts of Al Sharpton |first=Eli |last=Saslow |date=February 7, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/02/07/the-public-life-and-private-doubts-of-al-sharpton/}}
* {{cite news |title=A Slimmed-Down Al Sharpton Savors an Expanded Profile |first1=Nikita |last1=Stewart |first2=Jason |last2=Horowitz |date=August 24, 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/nyregion/a-slimmed-down-sharpton-savors-an-expanded-profile.html}}
* {{cite news |title=Obama Administration Finds a Strong Ally in the Rev. Al Sharpton |last=Thompson |first=Krissah |date=April 16, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/16/AR2010041602381.html}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Al Sharpton}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|789314|Al Sharpton}}
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21903-2004Jul28.html Text of Democratic National Convention 2004 Speech]
* [http://senate.ontheissues.org/Al_Sharpton.htm On the Issues – Al Sharpton] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224011012/http://senate.ontheissues.org/Al_Sharpton.htm |date=February 24, 2007 }}) issue positions and quotes
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080216061635/http://gallery.photo.net/photo/6208969-md.jpg Al Sharpton 1988 Poughkeepsie march photograph] by photographer/filmmaker [[Clay Walker (filmmaker)|Clay Walker]]
* {{NYTtopic|people/s/al_sharpton/|Al Sharpton}}
* {{C-SPAN|9566}}
* [https://themoth.org/storytellers/al-sharpton Stories told by Al Sharpton] at ''[[The Moth]]''
* {{Charlie Rose view|1664}}

{{Black Lives Matter}}
{{MSNBC personalities|state=expanded}}
{{United States presidential election candidates, 2004}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpton, Al}}
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