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Rev. Al Sharpton biography

Rev Al Sharpton pictured in 1987 at a Tina Turner concert

Rev Al Sharpton pictured in 1987 at a Tina Turner concert

Rev. Sharpton was born Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. on October 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York, to Ada (née Richards) and Alfred Charles Sharpton Sr.

The future Baptist minister allegedly preached his first sermon aged four, becoming an ordained minister aged 10 and reportedly once toured with Mahalia Jackson, the famed gospel singer.  

In the late 1960s, he became active in the civil rights movement, joining the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

 In 1969, Sharpton was appointed by Jesse Jackson to serve as youth director of the New York City branch of Operation Breadbasket, a group that focused on the promotion of new and better jobs for African Americans.  

In 1971, he established the National Youth Movement, to fundraise for impoverished youth. 

From 1973-1980 Sharpton was the tour manager for singer James Brown, where he met his future wife, Kathy Jordan, who was a back-up singer. 

Sharpton said of Brown: 'He became like a father I never had.' 

In 1980 he and Kathy Jordan married and had two daughters, Ashley and Dominique. 

During the 1980s, Sharpton got involved in many high-profile cases in the New York City area that affected the African American community and led several protests against what he believed were injustices and incidents of racial discrimination. 

The most controversial was that of Tawana Brawley, a 15-year-old girl who said she had been abducted and raped by white men.

Sharpton made comments and was successfully sued by Steven Pagones, one of the white men accused of raping Brawley, for defamation.  

On January 12, 1991, Sharpton escaped an assassination attempt when he was stabbed in the chest in a Brooklyn schoolyard by Michael Riccardi while Sharpton was preparing to lead a protest.

Sharpton survived and successfully sued New York for $200,000 saying that police failed to protect him.  

In 2001 he renewed his vows with wife Kathy Jordan but the pair separated in 2004, the year he stood as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President.  

In 2009 the Federal Election Commission announced it had levied a fine of $285,000 against him for breaking campaign finance rules in 2004. 

In 2011, he was named the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, a nightly talk show.

In 2015, the program was shifted to Sunday mornings.

Rev Sharpton has been outspoken during the rising Black Lives Matter movement, taking part in protests and speeches following the deaths of Trayvon Martin in 2012, Eric Garner in 2014, and George Floyd in 2020, amongst many others. 

 

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