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Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 4431
Registered: 07-2006
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Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 03:08 am: | 
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Struggle for civil rights not over, Sharpton tells crowd at Munford church
By David Mackey
02-13-2007
First Missionary Baptist Church in Munford celebrated Black History Month with guest speaker the Rev. Al Sharpton. Sharpton is among the most widely known civil rights activists in America. (Photo by Bob Crisp/The Daily Home.)
MUNFORD — The Rev. Al Sharpton electrified a crowd of hundreds at a small Munford church Sunday with a message that the struggle for civil rights and equality is not over.
Sharpton, one of the most well-known civil rights activists and preachers in the nation, was the featured speaker at First Missionary Baptist Church of Munford’s Black History Month service. Speaking from the pulpit for nearly an hour, Sharpton said many have forgotten how past generations fought and sacrificed to win the rights they enjoy today.
“What’s going on today is not only politically wrong; it’s wicked,” Sharpton said. “And we still must continue to struggle. We talk about black history; the struggle is not over.”
Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and remains a frequent commentator on political issues. His Sunday remarks freely mixed biblical references and criticism of politicians, including the Bush administration. Charles Steele, national president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a former Alabama state senator, referenced Sharpton’s political past and a possible future in his introduction.
“He hasn’t announced if he’s running for president, but I want you to know I’m ready to cast my vote for Rev. Al Sharpton,” Steele said to great applause.
Decades after winning the right to vote and participate in the political process, the black community in America still faces devastating problems that call for action, Sharpton said. But blame is shared by those who aim to oppress blacks and those blacks who refuse to improve their own culture.
“There’s something wicked about living in the richest country in the world and we have money for Iraq, but we don’t have money for school kids in Talladega County,” Sharpton said. “We have a president who can see weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that weren’t there, but couldn’t see a hurricane in New Orleans that was there. We have to deal with this. What bothers me is so many of us have become too cowardly, and the answer is, we have to recapture our courage or lose the few advances we have already made.”
Sharpton referenced the historical battles of the civil rights struggle, many of which took place in Alabama. Mentions of Rosa Parks, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and marchers attacked with police dogs and fire hoses drew knowing murmurs and shouts of “Amen” from the crowd.
Many in the religious community who provided the impetus for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s are no longer an active force against injustice, Sharpton said.
Today’s issues go beyond black and white, he said.
“It’s not about race,” Sharpton said. “A lot of black folks have been wrong. A lot of whites fought and died with us when a lot of blacks wouldn’t come to march. … We cannot allow us to be destroyed by foolishness that doesn’t solve the problems of the community.”
As an example of how the black community has lost its roots, Sharpton said, some years ago, Newsweek magazine featured several black corporate leaders on its cover and described them as the “alternative to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.”
“They’re the result of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton,” he said.
In another anecdote, Sharpton said that, when James Brown was arrested in South Carolina several years ago, he went to protest what he felt was an unfair sentence and sought the support of black entertainers who followed in Brown’s footsteps like Michael Jackson. Jackson declined to participate, and Sharpton told him, “You ain’t the first Negro that could dance.
“I did live long enough to see Michael have to call on me and James Brown,” he said.
That’s one example of how today’s successful blacks don’t realize what they owe to their predecessors, Sharpton said.
“Civil rights didn’t write your resume,” he said. “Civil rights made someone read your resume. … It’s bad enough you didn’t participate, you weren’t there, but it’s worse that you don’t have the sense to be grateful.”
Taking a page from other prominent black leaders like Bill Cosby, Sharpton also decried the “gangsta” culture that promotes violence and disparages education.
“Blackness is not about ignorance,” he said. “Black was when we didn’t have nothing and we put our dimes and quarters together and we built our own black colleges and our own black churches. … They don’t have to lynch no more. They just let the guns go in the hood and you’re stupid enough to kill yourself. …
“We wasn’t selling dope to each other. We wasn’t calling our mama a ‘ho.’ If you’re down, say you’re down, but don’t celebrate being down. … People didn’t pay a price for us to go back into slavery the back way.”
Sharpton recounted the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, saying that shows how people with no power or social status can lead a revolution.
“God didn’t need no big shots,” he said. “He likes to take ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”
He closed with a story of how he draws strength from his faith. Half-singing and dancing with gospel riffs punctuating his words, he recounted the end of his mother’s life as she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and eventually forgot her own children, but always remembered how to sing “Amazing Grace.”
The congregation gave Sharpton a standing ovation as he wiped sweat from his brow.
Talladega City Councilman Eddie Tucker presented Sharpton with proclamations from Talladega Mayor Brian York and the Talladega County Democratic Conference. After the service, dozens crowded around Sharpton at the front of the church for pictures and autographs.
The Jacksonville State University gospel choir performed several songs throughout the service, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “Faithful is Our God.”
Pastor Ricky McKinney, leader of the congregation that typically numbers about 125, said Black History Month should be celebrated by Americans of all races.
“Our ancestors played an important part in building this country, and we need to remember that every day,” McKinney said.
About David Mackey David Mackey is a staff writer for The Daily Home.
Contact David Mackey Phone:
E-mail:
256 299-2112
dmackey@dailyhome.com
http://www.dailyhome.com/news/2007/dh-talladegacounty-0213-dmackey-7b12v2830.htm |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7281
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 01:10 pm: |
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Nobody could ever accuse the nitty-gritty Sharpton of being dull. He's a very skillful orator and, unlike Barak, is too black to be president. |
Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 4444
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 05:33 pm: |
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...I'm sure he's glad you (and many others) are starting to see it his way, it'll help his cause I'm sure.  |
Yukio
Veteran Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 1785
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 11:22 pm: |
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hmmmmm....from this article, he is saying nothing new. The problem is not 'civil rights,' but much broader issues, issues that the civil rights guard dropped in order to obtain civil rights legislation. .. |
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