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The Rev. Al Sharpton insisted during a Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration that neither he nor his organization, the National Action Network, were anti-police but rather they were simply watchdogs for the community.

We are not anti-police, he said, Newsmax reported. We respect police who put their lives on the line every day.

He also said he fully supported good policing and that watching and questing police agency behavior does not make you anymore anti-police than every time a black is arrested makes you racist.

Mr. Sharpton called for the nation to start talking like adults about these issues and get out of this back-and-forth schoolyard mentality, Newsmax reported.

He capped his remarks by hugging New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who was among several notable politicos at the MLK event and admitting that while they dont agree on everything, the lines of communication still stayed open.

We didnt want a flunky, Mr. Sharpton said of Mr. de Blasio, Newsmax reported. We wanted a mayor, and we got a mayor that would talk to us and respect us, and we are grown enough to deal with a person who can disagree with us but respect us at the same time.

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Al Sharpton, at National Action Network, insists: 'We are not anti-police'

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Rev. Al Sharpton hugged and heaped praise on each other at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event Monday their first joint appearance since two cops were murdered and after weeks of angry anti-police protests.

Speaking at Be Like King Day at Sharptons Harlem headquarters, the mayor lauded the beaming preacher for helping curb the NYPDs stop-and-frisk tactics.

Deeds matter in this work, and when it came time to address a broken stop-and-frisk policy, Reverend Sharpton helped to organize that silent march, de Blasio said, referring to a 2012 Fathers Day protest.

And that silent march down Fifth Avenue ... changed this city. It changed the thinking, it changed the discourse, it changed the trajectory of this city, de Blasio told the events 350 guests, who included Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and, by phone, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

It borrowed from a rich and powerful tradition nonviolent, peaceful social change the essence of what Dr. King was about.

Before de Blasio took the microphone, Sharpton sang his praises.

Bill de Blasio and Al SharptonPhoto: Reuters

We elected him because we felt he believed in the principles we believed in, and he would hear us and regard us and respect us, Sharpton said.

When he decided to appoint Commissioner [Bill] Bratton, he told me, Al, I know he wouldnt be your first choice. But this is what I want to do.

The first stop Bill Bratton made as commissioner was right here on the Saturday after he appointed him. He said, Not your choice, but Im going to do what I believe, but Im going to respect you all, Sharpton recalled.

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De Blasio and Sharpton hug and praise each other at MLK event

Finally, Larry Wilmore has his very own TV show. And, as he noted at the top of "The Nightly Show," it's about time.

"I feel like there's so much to talk about, you know -- especially if I had this show a year ago," said the man whose show replaces Stephen Colbert's."Man, all of the good/bad race stuff happened already. Seriously, there's none left. We're done. Happy MLK Day everybody."

Of course, the "good/bad race stuff" never ends. And the success of shows like "Chapelle's Show" (still miss that one) and "Key and Peele" prove there is a market for this particular brand of humor.

On his debut, Wilmore -- formerly the "senior black correspondent" for "The Daily Show" -- took up the Ferguson/Eric Garner protests, the Oscar nominations and, most notably, Al Sharpton. Yes, all of those things are actually linked together under the umbrella of "the state of the black protest."

On Sharpton, Wilmoretapped into the familiar theme of Sharpton as the Number One Race Man.

"Sharpton? Again? I mean, no one else can represent us? Look, Al, slow down, man. You don't have to respond to every black emergency. You're not black Batman. A racial fire chief," he said plaintively. "I mean look at yourself Al Sharpton. I appreciate your efforts but you are literally stretching yourself thin. Take a break, man, no seriously. They are worried about you. Al, you need to eat food. Not just airtime."

The timing on Sharpton is interesting. A new pollshows most New Yorkers see him as a negative forcein that city, and a new Monmouth University poll shows African Americans say 49-35 that they need new leaders, beyond civil-rights-era spokesmen.

As for his new show,Wilmore borrows from "Meet the Press" with a panel at the end and a comedic riff at the top, with both segments about the same topic. It's a deep dive, much like what John Oliver has popularizedon "Last Week Tonight."

Expect to see comedians, politicians and artists; Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), rapper Talib Kweli and comedians Bill Burr and Shenaz Treasury, who will be a regular, were on the first show.

Nia-Malika Henderson is a political reporter for The Fix.

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Larry Wilmore takes on Al Sharpton: Take a break, man seriously

For the first time in over a month, Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared Monday alongside the Rev. Al Sharpton, who's been accused by some police unions of helping fuel anti-NYPD sentiment. Both he and the mayor did their best to counter that idea. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed this report.

One element missing from the recent, ongoing feud between the mayor and police unions has been the Rev. Al Sharpton, never a popular figure in police circles. But on Monday, the two again appeared together, with Sharpton emphatic that being for police reform does not mean being anti-police.

"Dr. King would want, in the spirit of justice, for us to underscore that justice does not mean anything near being anti-police, less killing police. So we want to set that tone," Sharpton said.

To that end, Sharptonjoined by dozens of supporters from his National Action Network later visited the site where two officers were gunned down last month, bringing wreaths to the scene.

"Dr. King did not tolerate hate speech," de Blasio said.

De Blasio, meanwhile, as he has repeatedly in recent days, continued to denounce anti-police rhetoric on the part of protesters.

"I think it's up to all of us to say to those who purport, who purport to want changeif you're saying something vicious and vile to a police officer you're not making change, you're not moving us forward," de Blasio said.

One of a host of top elected officials who took part in Monday's eventincluding Governor Andrew Cuomo, who called inde Blasio also touted the continued drop in crime, even as stop-and-frisks and marijuana arrests also decline. Seemingly appealing to the police unions, Sharpton spoke of returning to a sense of civility.

"This kind of name-calling and ugliness is something that we should never continue in this city. We've gotten out of it before and there's been a relapse," Sharpton said.

While Sharpton later led a vigil here on Staten Island at the site of Eric Garner's death, Mayor de Blasio was off to Paris, where he he'll appear at a series of events Tuesday, including one with the Paris mayor to commemorate the victims of the recent terror attacks.

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Mayor Joins Sharpton to Denounce Anti-Police Rhetoric

Comedy Central host Larry Wilmore began his Nightly Show debut Monday by mocking Al Sharpton for thrusting himself to the forefront of virtually every black issue, including the recent Oscar nominations.

Mr. Sharpton called an emergency meeting among his eight-member diversity task force last week to consider protesting the Academy Awards after the movie Selma received only one Oscar nomination.

Mr. Wilmore himself joked about the nominations theyre so white a grand jury has decided not to indict them but questioned Mr. Sharptons involvement, Raw Story reported.

Sharpton? Again? I mean, no one else can represent us? Mr. Wilmore asked. Look, Al, Al, Al, Al. Slow down, man. You dont have to respond to every black emergency. Youre not black Batman, our racial fire chief.

I mean, look at yourself, Al Sharpton. I appreciate your efforts, but youre literally stretching yourself thin, he continued. Take a break, man, seriously. Theyre worried about you. Al, you need to eat food, not just airtime.

Taking a more serious tone, Mr. Wilmore argued that the racial protests occurring across the country are not less focused than the civil rights marches in the 1960s, but their goals are less tangible.

In the old days, it was about being able to sit at a lunch counter, going to the same schools, or even voting. Today were just trying to not get shot on our way to work, he said.

Mr. Wilmore played a clip of a news report last week out of Florida that revealed North Miami Beach police officers had used mug shots of black men for target practice at a gun range.

Now, how can we see that and be surprised when it happens in real life? Im not surprised when Kobe hits a jumper. That dude practices, he joked.

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Larry Wilmore, Comedy Central host, reminds Al Sharpton he's not 'black Batman'