The Reverend Speaks

Al Sharpton: A Pleasant Surprise

By Elena Derby
Staff Writer

“He’s what America needs,” said one CMC sophomore after watching Reverend Al Sharpton speak at McKenna Auditorium on January 25th. This popular post-speech sentiment was not the one I had originally anticipated when reading about the famous political figure.

In the past, Sharpton has been the subject of much controversy, with accusations ranging from anti-Semitism to defamation of character (for which he was successfully sued). Some of the accusations against Sharpton do seem a bit stretched.  In one instance, a former employee of a Harlem clothing store listened to a speech Sharpton gave denouncing the store’s racist practices. A month later, the disgruntled employee burned down the establishment, killing eight people, and Sharpton was accused of promoting arson.

Although some allegations against Sharpton may be exaggerated, he remains a debatable figure in the political sphere. I asked the director of Athenaeum events, Bonnie Snortum, if there had been any apprehension about Sharpton’s visit. “We don’t shy away from controversial speakers,” she responded. “I think we should be a marketplace for ideas, and I don’t think we should be afraid to talk about issues, even if they’re uncomfortable. People can make up their own minds about how they feel.”

Surprisingly, out of the dozen people I interviewed while waiting for the doors of McKenna Auditorium to open, only one knew anything about the Reverend’s history aside from the fact that he ran for president in the Democratic primaries. For the most part, students came to see Sharpton just because they’d heard of him before in some capacity.

  Sharpton, as could be expected of a good politician, was a charming and entertaining crowd-pleaser. The first part of the Reverend’s speech centered on the notion that Martin Luther King Jr. would disapprove of our governmental policies if he was still alive today.

Sharpton continued to denounce the policies of the Bush administration—specifically its actions throughout the war in Iraq, responses to Katrina and campaign tactics. He asserted that the Bush administration had misled the country into war and that its response to Katrina had been unnecessarily delayed. In addition, he denounced the strong focus on “moral issues” used in the Bush reelection campaign. He claimed that the country was tricked into voting for the president as he “used homosexuals as a scapegoat for his bad policies.”

The crowd - mostly filled with supporters of Sharpton’s message - was very responsive, especially to the Reverend’s sense of humor.  “I didn’t go to Claremont, but I know what ‘Imminent’ means,” he joked, alluding to Bush’s claims of Saddam Hussein as an imminent threat.

Aside from his evident charisma, Sharpton impressed students with his willingness to frankly state his opinions; a quality that many have looked for, but have not seen in recent Democratic leaders. “I appreciated his honesty,” said CMC sophomore Paul Snell.  “He’s been in the public eye for so long and, still, he says what he means.  I didn’t think he had it in him.”

Of course, there was some opposition to Sharpton’s message. During the period of questioning after his main speech, one student inquired after Sharpton’s promotion of affirmative action, arguing that he felt it would be fairer to base the program on socioeconomic standing rather than race. Another student questioned how the Reverend, being a man of faith, could support gay marriage.

After the program, one CMC senior said that Sharpton was not correct in asserting that the president was to blame for the chaos that followed Katrina. He also disagreed with Sharpton’s argument that the late response was race-based, criticizing Sharpton’s claim that “the fact that [the victims] were poor and people of color made it easier [for the government] to ignore them.” 

“I think that Katrina was a mess on many levels,” said the student.  “The main problem was a lack of coordination [between federal and state agencies].”

However, regardless of student divisions over the rest of his speech, Sharpton’s closing statements commemorating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., seemed to strike a chord with everyone. He encouraged the audience to forget the pursuit of luxuries and follow King’s example, devoting themselves to the betterment of a cause. “The only thing that will matter the minute after you go will be if you committed a part of yourself to something bigger than you,” Sharpton said.

Leaving the program, students seemed pleasantly surprised. The only student I interviewed with knowledge of Sharpton’s controversies prior to the program reacted positively to the Reverend’s speech. “Maybe the articles I read were biased or inflammatory,” she said. “He was a very good speaker, and I liked what he said. I’ll have to read more.” Another CMC senior, Jordan Crumley, also felt that the media had misrepresented Sharpton. Crumley entered the event expecting a more ridiculous, exaggerated radical, and was surprised by Sharpton’s clarity and conviction. One Fontana resident and CMC parent said, “He inspired me to really get out there and listen to what these politicians are saying, even if I don’t think I agree with their position. The media has become tainted.”