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Founder of the National Action Network Helped incite anti-Jewish riots in Crown Heights, New Yorkin 1991 Convicted of libel for his role in the racially charged Tawana Brawley hoax Incited black anti-Semites against a Jewish business establishment in Harlem in 1995 Democratic Party presidential candidate, 2004

See also: National Action Network Jesse Jackson

Early Years

Alfred CharlesSharpton wasborn in Brooklyn, New York in October 1954, to comparatively prosperous parents.He demonstrated considerable verbal dexterity at an early age and is reputed to have begun preaching when he was four years old. He was touted as the wonder-boy preacher by age 7, when he toured with gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and Pentecostal minister F.D. Washington. Washington personally ordained Sharpton, who idolized Adam Clayton Powell, as a Pentecostal minister when the boy was 10.

That same year, Sharptons parents divorced, leaving the youngster and his mother impoverished and reliant on welfare. In the late 1960s, Sharpton joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1969 he was appointed as youth director of SCLC's "Operation Breadbasket," an initiative headed by Jesse Jackson which boycotted businesses accused of failing to hire enough black employees. Jackson, moreover, became a mentor to Sharpton.

Supporting a Communist Front and Angela Davis

In the February 9, 1971 edition of the Communist Party USA newspaper Daily World, CPUSA member Stephanie Allan wrote about a pair of recent rallies (in Chicago and in White Plains, New York) which had been held to support a CPUSA front called The Committee to Free Angela Davis. At the time, Davis was in prison for her role in abetting the murder of a California judge. Eliseo Medina was one of the speakers at the Chicago event, while Sharpton addressed the New York rally. According to Stephanie Allan, Sharpton and fellow speaker J.L. Scott exposed the connection between [the] A&P [Corporation], U.S. monopoly capitalism, racism and imperialism, and related these to the Angela Davis case and the threat to the vital rights of the Black people.

1971-1978

Also in 1971, Sharptonestablished the National Youth Movement, an organization that sought to organize young African Americans to push for increased voter registration, cultural awareness, and job-training programs. He would lead the group for the next 17 years.

After attending Brooklyn College for two years, Sharpton dropped out and had no additional higher education or formal seminary training. He soon began working (as a tour manager) for the entertainer James Brown and, later, for boxing promoter Don King. In 1978, Sharpton made an unsuccessful run for the New York State Senate.

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Al Sharpton - Discover the Networks