Al Sharpton quotes - page 3

I grew up in the 1950s and '60s, when it was almost a holiday when a black act would go on Ed Sullivan. (Al Sharpton)
Mr. President, as I close, Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters, particularly African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the Democratic Party take us for granted? Well, I have raised questions. But let me answer your question. You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. 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. View quote
Al Sharpton
Mr. President, you said would we have more leverage if both parties got our votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the right to organize under Democrats. Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of good men, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us. This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away. Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale. View quote
Al Sharpton
I suggest to you tonight that if George Bush had selected the [Supreme] court in '54, Clarence Thomas would have never got to law school. View quote
Al Sharpton
The United States has got to adopt a policy of befriending and creating allies around the world. View quote
Al Sharpton
I'll know how outraged I am when I know how many black people were on those flights. View quote
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. View quote
Al Sharpton
This is not about what party you're part of. This is about right and wrong, ... the conscience of this nation. View quote
Al Sharpton
Somebody had to bring the truth to the doorstep of this president. View quote
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. View quote
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)
In 1999, I was in St. Louis with Martin Luther King III as we led protests against the state's failure to hire minority contractors for highway construction projects. We went at dawn on a summer day with over a thousand people and performed acts of civil disobedience. View quote
Al Sharpton
I was the first candidate to come out against this war, spoke at every anti-war march. View quote
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. View quote
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. View quote
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. View quote
Al Sharpton
If you can get the proper definition of trouble, then we can find out who the real troublemakers are. View quote
Al Sharpton
I always beat the sun up in the morning. It's the secret to why I'm double trouble. View quote
Al Sharpton
James Brown became my father. He would talk to me the way a father talked to a son. He became the father I never had. View quote
Al Sharpton
The right wing always mobilizes around constitutional amendments: the right to bear arms, school prayer. View quote
Al Sharpton
The boxing world is full of all kinds of corruption. (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. View quote
Al Sharpton
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. View quote
Al Sharpton