Al Sharpton is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and media personality known for his decades of involvement in racial justice and politics in the United States.

Basic bio

  • Full name: Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr., born October 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York.
  • Known for: Leading protests and campaigns against racial discrimination, founding the National Action Network, and hosting the political talk show ā€œPoliticsNationā€ on MSNBC.
  • Role today: A prominent Black civil rights leader frequently seen commenting on U.S. politics and race issues in the media.

Early life and ministry

  • Sharpton began preaching as a child and was ordained as a Pentecostal minister at a very young age (around 9ā€“10 years old), later becoming a Baptist minister.
  • He grew up in Brooklyn; after his parents split, his family struggled financially, which he has often cited as shaping his activism around economic justice.

Activism and organizations

  • In the early 1970s, he founded the National Youth Movement to support disadvantaged Black youth and campaign on issues like jobs and drugs.
  • In 1991 he founded the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization that advocates for voting rights, police accountability, affirmative action, and reparations for slavery.

Politics and media presence

  • Sharpton has run unsuccessfully for several offices, including mayor of New York City, U.S. senator, and the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.
  • Since 2011 he has hosted ā€œPoliticsNationā€ on MSNBC, becoming a regular television commentator on race, policing, and national politics.

Why heā€™s controversial

  • Supporters see him as a persistent advocate for victims of racial violence and police misconduct, using media attention to force action in highā€‘profile cases.
  • Critics argue he sometimes inflames tensions or pursues publicity, and several online forums and discussions debate his style, past cases he championed, and his presence on TV.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.