BACKGROUND

 

Al Sharpton is seen as the voice for those who are unable to defend themselves, like Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin. Sharpton is a political and social activist who advocates for racial equality and justice. Sharpton first began his work with racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement. He joined the organization Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which was led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and was the youth director of one of the programs for the organization. The program was Operation Breadbasket, which sought to encourage diversity in the work place. In order to achieve this, SCLC applied social and economic pressure on businesses ("Al Sharpton Biography" para. 5). Sharpton began his own organization, the National Youth Movement (NYM). In the 1980s, Sharpton became more involved in many high-profile cases. In 1986, he helped to keep media scrutiny on the racially based murder of a black teenager, Michael Griffith. Al Sharpton also took on the Tawana Brawley case, which significantly damaged his reputation since the case turned out to be a hoaxed ("Al Sharpton Biography" para. 6). In the 1990s, Sharpton faced more charges. He was tried and acquitted of stealing from NYM. Despite his troubles, Al Sharpton continued to advocate for racial equality and justice. He arranged protests and gave press conferences in places like Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood in 1991 ("Al Sharpton Biography" para. 7). However, Sharpton lost support in the black community when the media reported that he was a paid informant for the FBI. The operation took down the Genovese Family. Many lost respect for Al Sharpton calling him a "rat" or a "snitch," which are terms used to describe someone a government informant ("Al Sharpton Biography" para. 8).