A biography for Al Sharptonhasn’t been written yet.
“As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2014, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable.”
“If companies can refuse to provide coverage for women, what other objections to the Affordable Care Act will we see based on 'religious grounds'? For that matter, will 'religious freedom' be used as an excuse to discriminate against other minorities and disenfranchised groups across the board? Where will it end?”
“My message to everyone: the next time you hear about migrant children near the border, just picture them as your own. Then think what you would want our government to do.”
“Let me be clear: as I have said repeatedly, I do not believe that all police officers are bad, nor do I believe that most are bad. But there must be a transparent, impartial and fair system to judge those that engage in criminal or unethical acts.”
“Local prosecutors work alongside local police officers on a regular basis and are therefore conflicted when it comes to prosecuting those same officers. They are under extreme pressure from local police unions and from rank-and-file cops.”
“I actually lost more weight than I am!”
“I could take all the cartoons in the tabloid newspapers, but I couldn't take my daughter punching me in the belly and asking why I was so fat. That was my inspiration to lose the weight. And probably the last time anyone hurt my feelings.”
“As a kid who grew up chubby, I just marveled at the fact that I could be thin.”
“One of the reasons I get so much joy out of my own children's childhoods is that I'm having my first childhood myself.”
“In order to establish peace, you must have fair justice for everyone.”
“It seems some have chosen to ignore or have simply forgotten the big-picture vision promoted by Dr. King and his kin.”
“We're not willing to give black leaders second chances because, in most cases, we're not willing to give them first chances.”
“The United States has got to adopt a policy of befriending and creating allies around the world.”
“Everything from who sits on your local board of education to the prosecutors and judicial appointments in your area and much more are all impacted by who holds political office.”
“Either we need to redefine what probable cause means and say that police are not subject to it, or we arrest officers right away just as we would with any other person accused of committing a crime. Either we write new laws or enforce existing ones; we cannot have it both ways.”
“James Brown became my father. He would talk to me the way a father talked to a son. He became the father I never had.”
“I grew up in the 1950s and '60s, when it was almost a holiday when a black act would go on Ed Sullivan.”
“If you play the theatrics too much, you get in the way of your own cause.”
“I've seen too much in life to give up.”
“As I stood and gave the eulogy for young Michael Brown last week, I kept thinking about the fact that this child should have been in college instead of laying in a coffin.”