Rev Al Sharpton

For decades, the Rev. Al Sharpton has fought for equality and justice for Black families affected by racial violence and an unfair justice system. He brings national attention to police brutality, housing inequity, hate crimes, and other threats to the civil rights of Black Americans.

His most recent focus is Dexter Wade, a Black man fatally struck by an off-duty Jackson, Mississippi, police officer in March. Wade was buried without his mother being notified, and she learned of his death nearly six months later. Sharpton called it “a cover-up, plain and simple” and urged the Department of Justice to investigate the department.

Sharpton has played a central role in high-profile cases including George Floyd, Tyre Nichols, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner. Born in Queens in 1954, he began preaching at age 4. At 13, Rev. Jesse Jackson appointed him youth director of Operation Breadbasket’s New York chapter, and at 16 he founded the National Youth Movement. His godfather, James Brown, taught him how to hold a crowd’s attention.

His first major case came in 1986, when Michael Griffith was killed after being chased by a white mob in Howard Beach, Queens. Sharpton led protests that helped secure manslaughter convictions for three attackers. In 1989, he was stabbed during a march for Yusuf Hawkins and kept going.

Sharpton founded the National Action Network (NAN) in 1991. Today it has more than 100 chapters focused on criminal justice reform, police accountability, voting rights, and youth leadership. He hosts “PoliticsNation” on MS NOW and the radio show “Keepin’ It Real,” and has written several books, including “Rise Up” and “Righteous Troublemakers.”

At 71, he shows no sign of slowing down.