Al Sharpton Quotes & Sayings

I am in hell already. I am in Israel. — Al Sharpton

It is up to us to change laws on the books like 'Stand Your Ground' laws and push elected officials to enact regulations that hold police officers to the same standards as the rest of society. This is why we vote. — Al Sharpton

Dr. King's general principles are universal. But the things he confronted took place in another era. — Al Sharpton

So (if) some cracker come and tell you 'Well, my mother and father blood go back to the Mayflower,' you better hold your pocket. That ain't nothing to be proud of. That means their forefathers was crooks. — Al Sharpton

The United States government has the obligation to educate all young people in this country. — Al Sharpton

I'm a patriot in the truest sense of the word. — Al Sharpton

We have defeated Jim Crow, but now we have to deal with his son, James Crow Jr., esquire. — Al Sharpton

Dr. King used Gandhi's commitment to non-violence and to passive resistance. — Al Sharpton

National Action Network, the group I founded, has affiliates or chapters in over 40 cities around the country. — Al Sharpton

I've never done anything else in my life other than preach and be an activist. Way before I was known. — Al Sharpton

I haven't done the things I've done to be in a sitcom. — Al Sharpton

President Obama telling Americans not to panic in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. — Al Sharpton

Demonstrations must be dignified and nonviolent, as the overwhelming protests in Ferguson and Staten Island have been. Do not confuse anarchists who don't want the system to work and thugs who want to exploit a situation with the majority who from day one have operated with impeccable nonviolence and clear goals. — Al Sharpton

But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody. — Al Sharpton

I've gone from, you know, being too close to politicians, to being too close to entertainers, and people's father that I'm not. — Al Sharpton

James Brown lives, as long as someone steps out of their body and dances uncontrollably. — Al Sharpton

What's wrong with denouncing white interlopers? — Al Sharpton

I always beat the sun up in the morning. It's the secret to why I'm double trouble. — Al Sharpton

They tried to say that being gay is a sin, and I said that adultery is a sin. Adultery is responsible for breaking up more marriages, but do we put that in the Constitution? It's absurd. — Al Sharpton

I've seen too much in life to give up. — Al Sharpton

I think that any time you look at the fact that boycotts have historically led to change, whatever temporary inconvenience there may be, it in the long run leads toward, in my opinion, a better change for everybody. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

Don't talk to us like we ignint! — Al Sharpton

In Ferguson, there are witnesses who say Brown had his hands up when he was shot. That should be enough probable cause to go to trial to then determine if Officer Wilson is guilty or not. It is at trial that he can then defend himself and his attorneys can present their own witnesses and their own defense. — Al Sharpton

The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is met with both pride and disappointment by the Civil Rights community. We are proud that he has been the best Attorney General on Civil Rights in U.S. history and disappointed because he leaves at a critical time when we need his continued diligence most. — Al Sharpton

I knew from the age of four that I wanted to preach. I didn't even consider it strange that grown people were listening to this kid preaching until I was around thirteen. I have never believed in limitations. — Al Sharpton

It was better walk with dignity than ride in shame. A lot of people in Cincinnati are saying, "Rather than have the continual problems of police brutality and economic disparity, I'm willing to make some sacrifices." And I think that they ought to be respected for doing that. — Al Sharpton

If Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house. — Al Sharpton

Evangelicals catapulted George W. Bush back to the White House. — Al Sharpton

I'm projected as an ambulance chaser, but I'm more the ambulance. People call me because they know I will come ... I have never fought a case where they didn't ask me to come. People have
this picture like I'm sitting up in bed at night with a walkie-talkie. "You hear anything? Oh, let's run! It's Virginia today!" ... Every victim calls us ... "Who put Sharpton in charge?" The
victim! — Al Sharpton

We're not willing to give black leaders second chances because, in most cases, we're not willing to give them first chances. — Al Sharpton

We need an amendment that gives us the right to vote protected by the federal government and the Constitution. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

I can call a march, and thousands come out, and I happen to have access to the White House at the same time. — Al Sharpton

People in the age of [President] Obama don't dress like they did in the age of [Lyndon] Johnson. That's for sure. — Al Sharpton

I very rarely read any fiction. I love biographies; I read about all kinds of people. I love theology and some philosophy. — Al Sharpton

I understand deficit spending. I was born in deficit spending. — Al Sharpton

When you loot or behave violently, you give grounds to those that try to justify illegal police abuse. You become the poster child for them to say, 'See, we have no choice but to shoot and kill, or use a chokehold, because just look at the way they behave.' — Al Sharpton

We are engaged in immediate conversations with the White House on deliberations over a successor whom we hope will continue in the general direction of Attorney General Holder. — Al Sharpton

We blacks had problems in the '60s and we solved them by marching. We've still got problems - let's march. — Al Sharpton

I feel that it is our moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this nation. — Al Sharpton

During my 2004 presidential campaign, I was fond of saying that it was high time for the Christian right to meet the right Christians. — Al Sharpton

I think drugs affect poor people and people of color more than anyone. — Al Sharpton

I wanted to say to Governor Dean, don't be hard on yourself about hooting and hollering. If I had spent the money you did and got 18 percent, I'd still be in Iowa hooting and hollering. — Al Sharpton

The United States isn't a dictatorship ruling with a brutal army and an iron fist, so our police departments must understand that they are there to serve and protect us - all of us. And when they do commit crimes, they must be arrested and prosecuted like anyone else, bottom line. — Al Sharpton

I can't see how an unarmed man rejecting a drug deal ended up dead. — Al Sharpton

My organization, National Action Network (NAN), was on the ground talking and meeting with people in Ferguson, just as we did in Staten Island following Eric Garner's death. — Al Sharpton

Somebody had to bring the truth to the doorstep of this president. — Al Sharpton

If a cop sees a person running out of a store with a gun he's seeing a crime. He's not seeing a person standing. — Al Sharpton

If I use the media, even with tricks, to publicize a black youth being shot in the back in Teaneck, New Jersey ... then I should be praised for it, and it's more of a comment on them than me that it would take tricks to make them cover the loss of life. — Al Sharpton

Crime is going down everywhere but in the New York City Police Department. — Al Sharpton

I disagree with Muhammad. I'm against hate, anti-Semitism and homophobia. ... This is not a village of hate. It's a village of hope. ... Don't let midgets give us a bad name. There are still giants in Harlem giants who will stand up for our children. — Al Sharpton

We need to make some real fundamental change from the Constitution down in this country. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

It seems some have chosen to ignore or have simply forgotten the big-picture vision promoted by Dr. King and his kin. — Al Sharpton

The right wing always mobilizes around constitutional amendments: the right to bear arms, school prayer. — Al Sharpton

I've learned how to measure what I say. Al Sharpton in 1986 was trying to be heard. I was a local guy and was like, 'Y'all are ignoring us.' — Al Sharpton

I could have easily been a statistic. Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., it was easy - a little too easy - to get into trouble. Surrounded by poor schools, lack of resources, high unemployment rates, poverty, gangs and more, I watched as many of my peers fell victim to a vicious cycle of diminished opportunities and imprisonment. — Al Sharpton

In every era going back to Lincoln with Frederick Douglass, presidents talk to those that were leading at that time. — Al Sharpton

The United States has got to adopt a policy of befriending and creating allies around the world. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

If O.J. had been accused of killing his black wife, you would not have seen the same passion stirred up. — Al Sharpton

In New York, you are competing with Times Square lights and all of that, so you've got to be 300 pounds and crazy to get anyone's attention. Then, you can refine yourself. I always knew under those 300 pounds and tracksuits was a refined, slim, dignified man. — Al Sharpton

What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now. — Al Sharpton

How do you make things fair? — Al Sharpton

Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases. — Al Sharpton

But resist we much. We must, and we will much- about that- be committed. — Al Sharpton

We cannot reform institutional racism or systemic policies if we are not actively engaged. It's not enough to simply complain about injustice; the only way to prevent future injustice is to create the society we would like to see, one where we are all equal under the law. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

The Democratic Party hasn't whipped anybody into a frenzy. The assumption is that the people that are marching and protesting and standing up against this don't have enough sense to stand up for their own interests. — Al Sharpton

I've seen enough things to know that if you just keep on going, if you turn the corner, the sun will be shining. — Al Sharpton

If it weren't for the mentorship and guidance from people like my mother, James Brown and others, I wouldn't have been able to make something of my life. — Al Sharpton

If you play the theatrics too much, you get in the way of your own cause. — Al Sharpton

I was there during the first elections in South Africa. I watched them take down the apartheid flag and raise the new flag. — Al Sharpton

When the culture of police departments is sometimes infused with bias or preconceived ideas against certain groups, there needs to be reform and retraining throughout. And unfortunately, we cannot rely on local departments to police themselves; we need intervention from the top. — Al Sharpton

Like myself, President Obama is the father of two daughters. He understands the obstacles that they face as women, but he also understands the emergency of the state of young black men in America. — Al Sharpton

I cannot imagine where we would have been without BET. Many like me who operate in black America can only get our balanced story told nationally on BET talk shows. — Al Sharpton

Following Michael Brown's death, I went to Ferguson and met with his parents. I stood with them as they tried to hold their heads high and deal with both their immense loss and the larger issues of police-community relations. — Al Sharpton

The boxing world is full of all kinds of corruption. — Al Sharpton

I'm never going to be fat - never again. I'm going to make it easy on my pallbearers. — Al Sharpton

When you're dealing with boycotts, you don't need everyone. You just need enough to be effective. — Al Sharpton

In Staten Island, when you have video showing the alleged chokehold used on Eric Garner, why not go to trial and have the officer(s) explain the tape, and then this jury can determine guilt or innocence? The tape should guarantee that there should be a trial. — Al Sharpton

The promise of America is one immigration policy for all who seek to enter our shores, whether they come from Mexico, Haiti or Canada, there must be one set of rules for everybody. We cannot welcome those to come and then try and act as though any culture will not be respected or treated inferior. We cannot look at the Latino community and preach 'one language.' No one gave them an English test before they sent them to Iraq to fight for America. — Al Sharpton

I've been able to reach from the streets to the suites. — Al Sharpton

Bill Clinton strikes me as the kind of guy who goes wherever the polls lead him, rather than leading the polls. — Al Sharpton

I think that you can't choose leadership. You have to deal with the leadership that the people respond to. — Al Sharpton

Better to die of something than to die in old age of nothing. — Al Sharpton

I was the first candidate to come out against this war, spoke at every anti-war march. — Al Sharpton

If the black vote does not come out in big numbers in the age of Ferguson and voter ID, it will empower our adversaries and enhance our marginalization. — Al Sharpton

As a kid who grew up chubby, I just marveled at the fact that I could be thin. — Al Sharpton

There's no reason why children in inner cities or rural areas do not receive the same quality education or opportunities as those in suburbs or wealthy neighborhoods. If we truly believe in giving all citizens a chance to pursue happiness and pursue their goals, then we cannot continue to marginalize entire groups of people. — Al Sharpton

Getting Democrats organized is like herding cats. — Al Sharpton

Countries around the world have their own immigration laws and methods of dealing with a recurring theme: desperate people searching for peace from volatile parts of the world. And nations everywhere thrive and prosper from the contributions of immigrants and the children of immigrants - including right here in the U.S. — Al Sharpton

The dream was not to put one black family in the White House, the dream was to make everything equal in everybody's house. — Al Sharpton

It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us. — Al Sharpton

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. — Al Sharpton

I don't think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I'm being effective, because I'm not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change. — Al Sharpton

My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order. — Al Sharpton

Throughout my years championing for civil rights, analyzing politics and advocating on behalf of the voiceless, I am disturbed the most when harmless children suffer because of politics or detrimental policies. — Al Sharpton