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Q&A By Adelle M. Banks | 22 mins ago

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks with local African-American clergy members on Aug. 8, 2017, in Woodlawn, Md. Sharpton addressed Baltimore's upswing in violence and urged clergy in attendance to participate in the Thousand Ministers March from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., which will take place Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

(RNS) The Rev. Al Sharpton says his thousand-minister march is all the more urgent now than when he began planning it months ago.

The Pentecostal-turned-Baptist minister says the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., has sparked more interest and a greater need for clergy of many faiths to speak up at the march set for Aug. 28, the 54th anniversary of the March on Washington.

The march will begin at the Washington memorial honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and end at Justice Department offices to protest increased hate crimes, discrimination and mass incarceration.

The 62-year-old president of the National Action Network, a predominantly black, Christian organization, talked with RNS about his plans. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Charlottesville was a very startling and repulsive reminder to us of the issue of hate and the issue of racism and anti-Semitism that is still alive and practiced in the country. It seems now to have been revived and, in many ways, given moral equivalency with those that protested by the president of the United States. We need a president thats clear that anti-Semitism and hatred and the kind of public display of bigotry that we saw is unacceptable.

We had already called for 1,000 ministers of all faiths Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim to meet at Kings memorial and march to the Justice Department, saying we do not want to see the moral authority of Dr. Kings dream undermined no matter who the president. And weve had several hundred ministers already sign. After Charlottesville happened and then the presidents reaction it has intensified and were getting calls from all kinds of ministers from all faiths saying we must make a statement.

Our hope is that when you looked at those Nazis carrying torches talking aboutYou will not replace us, we can contrast that with rabbis linking arms with Baptist ministers and Muslims marching in the spirit of Dr. King. They went to Robert E. Lees monument. Were going to Kings monument and marching to the Justice Department. I heard growing up that the best way to expose a dirty glass is put a clean glass next to it. Faith leaders must stand up and show a dignified, nonviolent way.

Our security concerns have grown cause we always now have to be concerned about whether some people will try and do a counter thing Im talking about from the right. I get up every day facing death threats. Thats normal when youre high-profile. So our security concerns increase although weve had no direct threats.

As Ive talked to a lot of the ministers that have called and joined in now, a lot of them said that, yes, we always agreed with the idea of a march but I think we didnt understand the urgency until we saw that footage on Saturday night. I think what that has done is brought back, into everyones living room, why we need to keep marching. This is much worse than we thought in terms of a spirit of hate and immorality.

RELATED: We Shall Not Be Moved marchers honor King, fight fear of Trump

This one is for faith leaders. Weve only asked for ministers. Now, others might come but it will be led by and the program will be rabbis, clergy members of the various parts of Christendom, Muslims and Hindus. Because we want to make a statement that hundreds of faith leaders came to Washington on the day of Dr. Kings dream. That is a big difference from us bringing tens of thousands of people we want to make a clear statement from the moral and the faith leaders of this country.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, center, founder of the National Action Network, joins other civil rights leaders at the front of the We Shall Not Be Moved march in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2017, ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks

Dont forget Dr. Kings organization was named the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was very specific that it was religious-based and National Action Network is that as well. Weve not heard from the faith community in a very public, united way and thats the difference this march is.

It gives hope that there are people that are willing to stand up. Weve gone through rough periods in our history before and faith leaders leadus through. What do we remember about the 60s? We remember when Rabbi (Abraham Joshua) Heschel joined Dr. King in Selma. We remember how it was a rabbi that was the speaker right before Dr. King at the March on Washington. When we all started coming together and raised the high moral questions, it set the climate for change. And you will always have other things going on, but when people know that those whom they go to on their Sabbath to get guidance are standing up, it brings it to another dimension. And I think it is extremely important that we do this, particularly at this time.

I think that theyve got to get into the community. Theyve got to get into the schools. Theyve got to get into the local gatherings, the town halls, the planning board meetings. And weve got to beat back this spirit of hate. Weve got to go and do the work. Faith without works is a dead thing, the Bible says. And I want to lay that challenge out at the march: Weve got to come off our pulpits and out of our cathedrals and save the soul of this nation.

Adelle M. Banks, production editor and a national reporter, joined RNS in 1995. An award-winning journalist, she previously was the religion reporter at the Orlando Sentinel and a reporter at The Providence Journal and newspapers in the upstate New York communities of Syracuse and Binghamton.

Excerpt from:
Rev. Al Sharpton's thousand-minister march gains steam after Charlottesville - Religion News Service

A report in the New York Times that explored whether President Trump harbors racial animus interviewed several of Trump's black friends for the story, all of whom said they never saw signs of racism.

Only Democratic activist and liberal MSNBC host Al Sharpton, who has associated with Trump in the past, said he sees signs of racism in the president.

The story, published Thursday in light of Trump's comments about the violence in Charlottesville, Va., said, "more than ever, the question is being asked: Is Mr. Trump personally racist?"

Among those interviewed was Kara Young, a biracial former girlfriend of Trump's, who said, "That was not my experience" in their relationship. She also said that she "never heard him say a disparaging comment towards any race of people."

Also interviewed in the story was Katrina Pierson, a spokeswoman for Trump's campaign and for Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the administration. Both Pierson and Carson are black and both disputed the idea of Trump being racist.

Lynne Patton, a black woman in the administration leads the Department of Housing and Urban Development agency's New York and New Jersey office, offered that Trump "doesn't see color the way the average person does."

Trump drew wide criticism this week after he maintained that "both sides" of protesters at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville bear responsibility for violence that broke out and resulted in the death of one woman.

Among all those interviewed for the Times story, only Sharpton, who was an outspoken supporter of President Barack Obama and has a history of anti-Semitic activism, would suggest that Trump is racist.

"He has made a deliberate choice to not be inclusive and to be racially exclusive," Sharpton told the paper. "He has nobody black, at all, in his inner circle."

The article is similar to one published by the Times in late 2015, a few months into Trump's campaign. That story said his campaign rhetoric had "divide[d] black celebrities he calls friends."

But only two subjects interviewed for that story, entrepreneur Russell Simmons and, again, Sharpton, accused Trump of racial bigotry.

Rev. Jesse Jackson said in the story that Trump has said some "painful and hurtful" things throughout the campaign. But, the story said, "When asked if Mr. Trump was a racist, Mr. Jackson responded, 'I don't want to use that language.'"

Several other celebrities quoted in the story supported Trump, calling him a longtime friend.

Don King, the professional boxing promoter, said, "To me, Donald is Donald. That's not a presidential endorsement, but it is a humanistic endorsement."

The story referred to a recent comment by former boxing champion Mike Tyson, who defended Trump's controversial remarks on Muslims. "Hey listen, anybody that was ever president of the United States offended some group of people," Tyson had said.

Jaqueline M. Williams, a former associate at Trump's company, described the real estate developer's campaign rhetoric as "shocking" but otherwise only recalled a "warm, professional environment" while working for him.

Retired NFL player Herschel Walker also would not criticize Trump.

"I don't think Donald is against Muslims, or blacks, or Hispanics," Walker said in the story. "I do know he is going to try to make this country safe."

Read more here:
New York Times interviews Trump's black friends to ask if Trump is 'personally racist' - Washington Examiner

Asked by Charlie Rose (at the 15:30 mark) should they take down the Jefferson Memorial? Al Sharptonreflected on the nature of slavery then answered a different question: whether the federal government should support the memorial. Sharpton said it should not. When you look at the fact thatpublic monuments are supported by public funds youre asking me to subsidize the insult of my family. I would repeat that the public should not be paying to uphold somebody who has had that kind of background. You have private museums, you have other things that you may want to do there.

The Jefferson Memorial obviously cant be placed in a museum. Im not sure how privatizing it would work but I doubt the protesters whoare surely coming to it will much worry about that detail.

Sharpton also said(at the 11:55 mark),in the course of criticizing President Trumps reaction to Charlottesville,Ivein my own career wrestled, youve got to deal openly and say, no, Im not gonna be with those elements, Im not going to deal with violence. Ive had to deal with that.Im not saying anything that a lot of public officials havent had to struggle with, which is why Im saying, he knows better. Every one of us knows when youre around extremists that you need to say, Wait a minute, Im going topart company.

After Sharptonplayed a key role in the 1991 riots in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, ittook him 20 years to issue what The Forward called the closest he will probably ever come to an apology (our language and tone sometimes exacerbated tensions and played to the extremists) though heclaimed he saw brick-throwing on all sidesduring the unrest, which he helped instigate. Aftera black youth was accidentally killed by a car driven by a Jew, Sharptonsaid these words at a service for the deceased: Talk about howOppenheimerinSouth Africasends diamonds straight toTel Avivand 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 coffee klatsch, no skinnin and grinnin. A mob responded by murdering a rabbinical student and rioting for three days.

Sharptonin 1995 damned the Jewish owner of a sneaker store in Harlem at an angry rallybroadcast on local radioduring which he called the stores ownera white interloper and added, We are asking the buy blackcommittee to go down there, and Im going to go down there and do what is necessary to let them know that we are not turning 125th Street back over to the outsiders that was done in the early part of this century. . . .This is a sin and a shame and a disgrace, and we should not under any circumstances sit by and allow this to happen without a major reaction and major protest from us. One of the demonstrators who besieged the store shouting racist and anti-Semitic epithetslater killed seven people and himself in an arson attack on it.

Read more:
Al Sharpton Puts Jefferson Memorial on Notice - National Review

Radio host Rush Limbaugh has wry advice for activists targeting historical monuments to combat racism: Youve got to get rid of the Democrat Party.

Criticism of the Jefferson Memorial by the Rev. Al Sharpton, coupled with thetearing down of Confederate monument in North Carolina this week, prompted a race monologue by the eponymous host of The Rush Limbaugh Show on Tuesday.

The man behind the golden EIB microphone told his millions of listeners that left-wing activists cannot be mollified by ridding the nation of Civil War monuments before jokingly laying out a blueprint for success.

Their whole argument resides on the notion that it hasnt changed, that there still is, for all intents and purposes, slavery. There still is racism. There still is bigotry, Mr. Limbaughsaid in response to Mr. Sharptons appearance Monday night on PBS host Charlie Roses show.

Mr. Sharpton called the Jefferson Memorial a personal affront akin to subsidizing insults towards his family.

The Klan was all Democrats, and the segregationists in the South were all Democrats, Mr. Limbaugh responded. Id like to ask a question about this, for those of you on the left. You want to tear down the statues of Robert E. Lee and you want to tear down, now, the Jefferson Memorial if youre Al Sharpton.

But you want to get rid of all of these monuments that have been erected to people and events in our nations past, tied to the Civil War, which you find horribly, horribly offensive and you want to get rid of all vestiges. Well, at what point are you gonna realize that you also have to disband the Democrat Party? If youre gonna really succeed and follow through to the end on this mission, youve got to get rid of the Democrat Party.

The conservative hosts commentary came three days after 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed during a clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Cops arrested suspect James Alex Fields, 20, after he plowed his vehicle into a crowd.

If you cleanse all of these uncomfortable and painful reminders the statues are down, the roads are renamed, all of these monuments are gone how is your life on that day made better? How is your standard of living impacted? Mr. Limbaugh continued. How is your overall degree of happiness measured?

I guarantee you they havent thought this far because thats not what any of this is about. Were dealing hip deep with an unhinged irrationality that has the full-fledged support of the American media, which remains the organizing power today that projects the power of the American and the worldwide left.

See the original post:
Limbaugh to activists targeting historical monuments: 'Get rid of the Democrat Party' - Washington Times

Al Sharpton is a pathetic creature.

Waving his ordained mantle, he draws riches from human misery.

And now, following Saturday's horrific events in Charlottesville, Va., Rev. Al Sharpton has popped up again. Writing in the Guardian, Sharpton promised to lead responsive action for the atrocity that has occurred. He is "mobilizing from the ground up and gathering in the nation's capital on 28 August for a Ministers March for Justice."

It sounds genuinely good. It isn't.

Like all his other activities, this march will use a pretense of moral righteousness for the return of monetary greed. After all, its organizer is Sharpton's own National Action Network.

While the network claims to pursue "one standard of justice" and civil rights, its words are just another pretense. The network's real purpose? Dredging up hundreds of thousands of dollars in "salary" for Sharpton's wallet. We should also assume that the good reverend collects significant tax-free expenses from his charity. Remember, even as he demands first class flights and 5-star hotel suites, Sharpton has long struggled to pay his taxes.

When it comes to God's work, every dollar helps.

The National Action Network is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Sharpton's greed. In 2005, just one year after running for U.S. president, Sharpton featured as a commercial representative for car loan-shark company, Loan Max. The reverend insisted that his behavior was moral.

In more recent years, Sharpton has found a new profitable venture: using young black bodies as piggy banks. Eric Garner, who was killed in a 2014 altercation with New York City police officers, was one such bank for Sharpton. As Mr. Garner's eldest child noted in a 2015 James O'Keefe video, Sharpton is "all about [the money]." In that same video, a fundraiser for killed Florida teen, Trayvon Martin, describes how Sharpton takes hefty percentages of charitable donations for "fees." As the activist puts it, Sharpton and his posse are "shakedown guys."

Somehow, the slippery Sharpton always escape these scandals. Today, he continues to be employed by MSNBC, hosting a show that remains a perpetual ratings disaster.

Of course, in his Guardian piece, Sharpton cultivates a different image: that of a thoughtful statesman. "During these difficult and tense times," he sermonizes, "people look toward leaders to calm tensions and encourage people to come together against evil."

Translation? The reverend stands ready to preach for a profit.

In 2014, I anointed Sharpton the most boring public figure of the year. He is, I said, "repetitive and tedious."

But I was wrong. Sharpton isn't just repetitive and tedious, he's grotesque and unyielding. There are many patriots for civil rights, but this reverend is just a huckster in holy clothes.

Read more from the original source:
Reverend-huckster Al Sharpton smells a Charlottesville profit - Washington Examiner