Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton called out leaders of the Black community for having “negro amnesia,” accusing them of adding to the increasing racial divide in the U.S., the Philadelphia Tribune reports.
The accusations came during the inaugural Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, a nonpartisan event featuring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy members, hosted by City Council President Kenyatta Johnson (D-Pa.), where Sharpton was the keynote speaker. Held at the Crystal Tea Room in Center City, Sharpton called out Black leaders he feels showcase their success without giving credit to their past struggles and those before them. “We got a generation that doesn’t want to be tested,” Sharpton said.
“If we’re going to turn this country around, we’re going to have to come back together.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker made an appearance and supported some of Sharpton’s sentiments by laying out the “three tools” — nonviolent protests, court cases, and voting — that Black civil rights leaders once successfully used to get their point across. “I’m proud to be here because you were one of my teachers, one of our teachers,” Parker said.
“You were out front before it was a popular thing to do before it became a sexy thing to do.”
While giving a shoutout to Rev. Jesse Jackson and Philadelphia’s late Rev. Leon Sullivan as two of his faith mentors, Sharpton pointed the finger at people who feel religion exists for personal gain and touched on being invited to speak before congregations but being asked to limit his talks on politics and civil rights. Sharpton feels religion and politics go hand in hand, as books of the Bible tell tales of struggle and overcoming oppression.
To fight back, he announced, according to the New Pittsburgh Courier, a march on NYC’s Wall Street to commemorate Aug. 28 as the 62nd anniversary of the March on Washington.
Sharpton is carrying on the legacy of civil rights leaders that he stood with by adding pressure to President Donald Trump for his executive order that resulted in companies abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives just years after increasing them following the death of George Floyd in 2020. “If you don’t have diversity in the C-suite, if you don’t have diversity in your boards, if you don’t have diversity in employment, then you shouldn’t have diversity with your consumers,” Sharpton said.
“We’re not begging — we’re paying for the right to get what everybody else gets.”
Johnson said the event was a success, with 600 tickets selling out. He said the point was for attendees to “get the experience of all of our faith leaders here in the city of Philadelphia,” in addition to elected officials.
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