Reverend Al is on FIRE.

The hello to celebs was unnecessary. But he was great.

YASSIR!

YOU BETTA PREACH, DOC!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!

He always reminds me of George Jefferson.

He's an anti-Semite.

We'd be so much better off right now if he were President instead of Trump!

I dismissed him for years after the Tawana Brawley episode, but the past few years I've seen him on MSNBC and find him to be very sensible and credible.

I kind of love him.

"YOU'VE CHANGED THE WORLD, GEORGE!"

'You changed the world, George': George Floyd remembered in rousing, poignant memorial service

Politicians, civil rights legends and pro athletes joined family members at a memorial in downtown Minneapolis to mourn George Floyd.

By Paul Walsh Star Tribune JUNE 4, 2020 — 8:04PM

Politicians, civil rights legends and celebrities joined family members Thursday to mourn George Floyd in ways both rousing and uplifting, and for one long, poignant moment, silent.

The private memorial for Floyd, whose death after being pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police ignited a global cry of outrage and grief, was held in the sanctuary on the downtown Minneapolis campus of North Central University.

In spirited ebbs and flows, the Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized Floyd while at the same time calling for social change for African-Americans and others who feel oppression in this country.

But Sharpton closed his eulogy in a quiet and symbolic way, directing those in attendance to stand in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time representing how long one officer used his knee to pin Floyd by the neck last week as he pleaded “I can’t breathe” until falling motionless.

After the final second passed, Sharpton said, “That’s how long he was laying there.”

Turning his attention to the officers who held Floyd down, he added, “They had enough time.”

Speaking in the sanctuary with Floyd’s gold casket before him, Sharpton said, “Go home. Get your rest, George. You changed the world, George.”

Outside the mood swung from quiet anticipation before the service began to one of solidarity as it ended. Hundreds chanted “Say his name, George Floyd!” and “No justice, no peace” for several minutes after 92-minute service was over. They held their fists up together in solidarity, then the crowd gradually dispersed.

‘Get your knee off our necks’’

Sharpton said it’s not time to “sit here and act like we had a funeral on the schedule. George Floyd should not be among the deceased. He did not die of common health conditions. He died of a common American criminal justice malfunction.

“He died because there has not been the corrective behavior that has taught this country that if you commit a crime, it does not matter whether you wear blue jeans or a blue uniform, you must pay for the crime you commit.”

Sharpton, alluding to the police maneuver used to pin Floyd to the pavement, said, “Get your knee off our necks.” Speaking to the largely masked, largely African-American crowd, he continued: “We don’t need no favors, just get off of us and we can do and be whatever we can be.”

The first of Floyd’s relatives to speak, Philonise Floyd, recalled growing up with his brother not having much, but being happy playing video games, football, and cooking and dancing with their mother. Those who knew him best called him Perry.

“Everywhere you go, you see people how they cling to him,” the brother said. “They wanted to be around him. ... George, he was like a general. He walks outside and everyone wanted to greet him, wanted to have fun with him. Guys doing drugs and smokers, you couldn’t tell, because when you spoke with George, you felt like you was the president.”

North Central University President Scott Hagan drew loud applause when he announced that the Christian school would start a scholarship in Floyd’s name dedicated to inspiring young black leaders. Hagan challenged other colleges to do the same, to rousing applause.

In attendance were Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who fired the four officers involved in Floyd’s arrest, along with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Also in attendance were actor Kevin Hart and rappers Master P and Ludacris, along with several members of the Minnesota Vikings and NBA standout Stephen Jackson, one of Floyd’s closest friends.

I love listening to him on Morning Joe. He breaks it down!

^Response to R7 (Al Sharpton)

‘Feel the solidarity’

Tight end Kyle Rudolph and running back Alexander Mattison organized the team’s contingent that was joined by Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck.

“I felt like it was important,” Rudolph said of their presence. “This is our community. This is our home. I stand for what’s right and I’m against what’s wrong.”

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, also in attendance, said that while the service in the sanctuary had at times the feel of a funeral, it was clear that it was much more than that.

“There was a shared sense of community in [the sanctuary] and in the street about using this moment to finally commit to taking action to address these systemic injustices,” Smith said. “You can feel that solidarity.”

Matt Allen, 29, of St. Paul, agreed. “This memorial service is a way to say goodbye and honor a life, but it also stands as a public marking point to say ‘never again,’” said Allen, who was outside the service with a group of volunteers offering first aid and hand sanitizer. “It was important to me to be here and engage in that collective voice.”

Maudeline St. Jean and her sons Luke, 13, and Zachary, 15, came from Burnsville to show support for Floyd’s family and the struggle. “Things can change. There’s hope that change can come,” said St. Jean, who is black. Though she wonders, “Will it be slow or fast?”

Though the boys were wary of coming, because of the violence surrounding many of the protests, St. Jean reassured them. “You don’t have to be scared or worried. This is about showing support.”

By the end of the service, Zachary was standing, holding his sign aloft.

Outside, tucked under conifers at Elliot Park, kitty-corner from the Trask Worship Center, homeless men huddled in tents, some covered in tarps, while throngs of cameras from national and international media stood on tripods.

Across the park, near a wading pool void of water, volunteers largely from the service industry set up tables to distribute free meals before the service. Organizer and local chef Christopher Martin flipped hamburgers on propane and wood grills with another volunteer.

“I just wanted to cook for some people,” Martin said. “I don’t have a lot of money but thought maybe people would donate.”

Donations, including large ones from Nicollet Diner and USI Fiber, he said, allowed him to start grilling enough burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers to feed about 2,500 people during the service today.

“White people coming here, feeling sad — what happens when all those white people go back to their jobs in the suburbs?” said Jennifer Schnarr of Burnsville, who is white and was outside the memorial venue. “People need to get out there every day.”

The Minneapolis service is the first of three this week to memorialize Floyd. Another memorial is scheduled for Saturday in Raeford, N.C., where the 46-year-old Floyd was born. On Tuesday, a funeral will be held in Houston, where he lived much of his life until moving to the Twin Cities about five years ago. A private burial will follow that service.

Star Tribune staff writers John Reinan, Mara Klecker, Rochelle Olson and Pam Louwagie contributed to this report.

He has a lot of blood test on his hands. He's the last person who should be delivering any kind of message on healing and race. Still waiting for the apology for the deaths at Freddy's Fashion Mart that his race baiting caused.

I am a total atheist, and have very little use for clergy of any kind. That said, Reverend Al was on fire today. He brought people together, uniting them with purpose. While I don't believe the religious mumbo jumbo, what he said about the events and the need for change was 1. true and correct, 2. inspiring, and 3. comforting to people who are grieving. He showed great wisdom in his selection of a single Bible verse to focus on -one that all people could get behind, and he used the tropes of black churches everywhere to bring comfort and purpose to those in attendance. In short, he was wise, skilled, and compassionate. When a clergyman's sermon speaks to someone like me, you know he's good.

[quote] Reverend Al was on fire today. He brought people together, uniting them with purpose.

Yes, he did

If Al Sharpton was white he would have been cancelled a long time ago.

The irony is they now work together.

That fat fuck charlatan race baiter is beneath contempt. His whole career has ben based on lies (Tawana Brawley), hatred (Crown Heights) and cheating (Tax Time, Al?). An absolutely disgusting human being.

[quote]That fat fuck charlatan race baiter is beneath contempt.

You need to come into 2020, honey. Al, weighs less than 155lbs now.

God, I love me some Reverend Al, too! CAN'T WAIT to get back to his church in Memphis later this year, where I'm hoping he'll sing my fave-rave, "Still In Love With You."

Who is Reverend AI? Is he anything like MAX HEADROOM?

Al Sharption has spent his lifetime stirring up shit, stirring up hatred. He is far from being an admirable human being.

That's Al Green r23.

R25, He is far from being a human being.

He has his past, but he is spot on here.

When he apologizes for his own racism that lead to 9 deaths then we'll talk about him being spot on, r28. Until that apology comes, he's just a hypocrite who weasels his way into giving every eulogy for every high profile death by cop.

He is taking advantage of the George Floyd tragedy to promote himself.

As a well documented liar and Racine baiter he should have been shunned by all decades ago

The Bigot Sharpton incited an anti-Jewish pogrom in which Yankel Rosenbaum was murdered. He and those who turn a blind eye to his vicious bigotry are deplorable and hypocritical.

^^ race baiter

He takes advantage of every tradegy, r31. I can see him tripping all over himself to be the first one to get to the grieving family so he can be the first and get his TV FaceTime for a few days. He's the TMZ of tragedy.

Yes, I know, R26.

HOPE YOU GET IT NEXT TIME!

That's actually not true, R34. For many years now, Sharpton has not been the ambulance chaser. The families and other causes call him.

Hmmm, sure, r36. Just like, according to him, he wasn't at the Crown Heights protest that started the riots or it wasn't his words that caused Smith to burn 8 people alive at FFM.

Sharpton has assumed the Jesse Jackson role now that he has Parkinson's Disease.

Sharpton is hoping this George Floyd exposure will help him secure Chris Wallace's time slot so he can get off MSNBC's weekend detail.

In R22's photo his head is way TOO BIG for his body.

It's his ego, r39. It doesn't fit into a normal sized head.

I have never forgot Twana Braley and he can die in hell for all he had to do with that. I hope he gets hit by a bus.

Al Sharpton is a CLOWN.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Sharpton said to an audience at Kean College in 1994: "We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it". In 2007, Sharpton defended his comments by saying that the term "homo" was not homophobic; however, he added that he no longer uses the term.

"Al is doing just fine."

Yeah, I'm sure that young woman is with him because she can't resist his good looks. mesmerizing personality and sex appeal (snort). I wonder how much he paid her?

Bought himself a 'ho I see, how else would he get pussy.

For all you assholes crying about Sharpton. 400 years of murder lynchings oppression and white supremacy at the hands of white people, against black people says hello.

And telling the truth about white people and white society is not race baiting. That's the shit white people say to try and shutdown black people.

It doesn't work.

All the years of racism and lynchings are horrible, but they DO NOT NEGATE AL SHARPTON'S own LYING (Tawana) and race-bating and inciting viiolence murder.

This may be too complex for you, but 2 things can be true at the same time!!! (1. Racism is bad 2. Al Sharpton is a liar/fraud/racist)

Nope, r48, this is what equality looks like. Sharpton is a racist and bigot. Own it.

R49 I agree, not sure how my post @48 conflicts with what you wrote.

R49- and a CLOWN

Sorry, r48 slipped in there and I didn't realize it. I thought I was responding to the last post. It's r47 that I was responding to.

Cool. np

I'm no expert on the history of Reverend Al, so I [shudder] did a little research on the incidents that [R48] brought up. I don't know that I agree with his interpretations of those event. What is clear from reading the entire entry is that the man has grown through the years, acknowledges his past homophobia and other mistakes and missteps. Obama used to be against marriage equality, but we've forgiven him and allowed him to evolve. Reverend Al should get the same benefit of the doubt. In the last few years I have heard him speak out for gay rights and equality. He is a better man than he used to be.

And his oratory today knocked it out of the park.

R38, Chris Matthews, not Chris Wallace.

R54 he most certainly has not acknowledged that his anti-Semitic rhetoric led to the deaths of 8 people. And remember your words the next time someone is cancelled for something far less they did decades ago that doesn't come close to inciting violence.

R47 is disgusting.

I didn't think it was all that.

Here you go, r54, here is what you are defending...

White racism = BAD!

Black Jew hatred = Uhhhh, ummmm, well . . .

[quote]We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it

I would hope he meant astronomy.

R57 No, you just don't like the truth.

Facts are a stubborn thing.

Thanks for this post and whomever linked his eulogy...I watched it again...so healing and inspiring. Loved the turning the clock metaphors. Our future calls.

Let's not forget R54, his entire national exposure and the fact anyone knows who is is because of his FRAUD and LIES about Tawana Brawley, which no matter what he says now now about "learning", can't negate the fact that he is a huge charlatan and liar.

His racism, Jew hatred and homophobia just add to the mix.

People tend to also overlook Sharpton's extortion tactics by threatening to have his organization protest and boycott businesses unless they gave him money. Anyone who falls for Sharpton's act cannot complain about the deplorables falling for Trump.

Oh, and lets not forget he was an FBI informant and Roger Stone ran his presidential campaign.

I hope the gallons of product on his greasy head isn't flammable.

Sharpton is a race-baiting, Jew hating piece of dogshit.

I get the feeling there are some "Al Sharpton is SO sexy" trolls lurking here, still a little timid about declaring their love...

[quote]I get the feeling there are some "Al Sharpton is SO sexy" trolls lurking here, still a little timid about declaring their love...

Well... I'm definitely NOT one of those BUT Al has become more "statesman" like as he has aged and... made a little bit of money and gained some legitimate power and influence.

For an elderly black man who lost an entire person of weight, I think he's attractive, R69. He has style for days!

Verificata of sizemeat or GTFO, Al!

R70 i said this upthread and I'll say it again: a white man with his problematic background would have been cancelled.

I never understood the appeal of him having a show on MSNBC. He always seemed to be yelling.

What's he a reverend of?

Race-baiting, anti-Semetic homophobe.

Alrght, Al! Don't hurt us, Doc!

Who is worse sharpton or that Shaun King creature?

Tough one r78. In Sharpton’s favor, at least he isn’t lying about being black.

R79 Look at what this POS reverse oreo is tweeting. Not even hiding he is a rethug schill!

New Yorkers have known for decades: Trump and Sharpton are lying, shameless, clownish, shady, sociopath grifters.

^ I disagree, R81. Like it it not but Sharpton is pretty much well liked and respected in NYC

I wish I could find the clip of Morten Downey Jr. rolling Rev Al, in all his 1980s processed, fat glory, off of his stage. Hated MDJ, but that was a hilarious visual.

Not by a long shot, r81.

Sorry, r84 was meant for r82. And if you're Jewish in NYC you despise him for his antisemitism. See the WaPo article posted above.

Well... all I can say R85, is that I have attended a number of parties and events where Sharpton has been well received--even by the Jews

Eyeroll.

Black Jew hatred is rationalized, ignored, excused, dismissed, and in the Bigot Sharpton's case, handsomely rewarded. I can think of no better illustration of just how much society rewards Blacks for their Jew hatred than this.

Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was also a lifelong grifter and raised trash children.

And Farrakhan is a national embarrassment.

Great picture to make your point, R88. But, I can only speak for myself and my encounters with Sharpton. I don't believe him to be anti-semetic unlike a Jackson and a Farrakhan. As I posted earlier, Sharpton is really well received by the movers and shakers of NYC. Maybe Brooklyn, the Bronx, etc are quite different

R88 Your post reiterates mine. Black Jew hatred is socially acceptable, especially the Bigot Sharpton's variety. 12 deplorable Dem Presidential candidates saw nothing untoward with paying the Bigot Sharpton obeisance.

R90 you gave yourself away with saying he's not anti-Semitic. His antisemitism is well documented and is attributed to the deaths of 9 people. Jews in NY have not and will not forgive him for Yankel Rosenstein's death.

R92 It's Rosenbaum. And Yankel didn't die, he was murdered, stabbed to death by Lemrick Nelson. Who was acquitted. More reiteration of the social acceptability of Black Jew hatred.

Yes, sorry, i was just reading about Rod Rosenstein and had the name stuck in my head.

[quote]His antisemitism is well documented and is attributed to the deaths of 9 people. Jews in NY have not and will not forgive him for Yankel Rosenstein's death.

Ya know... I'm not as familiar with that as maybe I should be and by no means do I want to be flippant and disrespectful about that incident and the deaths of those people. But, here is something that I do know... I know that people can change and grow from whatever they were even as short as a day ago. I guess I should put it this way; I don't know, feel, or sense, that Sharpton is ant-semetic. But, that's just my experiences and opinion

[quote] Who is worse sharpton or that Shaun King creature?

King is much worse.

Sharpton was backwards fat trash when he started, and as much of a schemer as he looked to us in the cheap seats. But he has made himself better, matured, and has some things to say.

Shaun King is a fraud, period. Even worse, he's taking money from people of color and enriching himself while playing the social justice warrior. He may be pulling a Rachel Dolezal on his followers (claims to be biracial but likely isn't) and has been exposed for his money scamming.

The names people call him on Twitter are hilarious. Fleece Witherspoon is my favorite but there's also:

Fraudrick Douglass

Alexander Scamilton

Talcum X

Martin Luther Scam

Blankston Hughes

Thurgood Partial

[quote] I don't know, feel, or sense, that Sharpton is ant-semetic. But, that's just my experiences and opinion

R95 I'm sure apologists would say the same thing about Strom Thurmond, Lyndon Leroy, David Duke, Jackson and even Farrakhan. It's the nature of the apology beast.

R95 he first step in changing and growth is accepting responsibility for your actions. He has not done that. In fact he has deflected throughout the years.

Remember your words here next time someone gets cancelled for something not nearly as bad as Sharpton.

Tawana Brawley. If even if you don't are about Sharpton's racism and anti-semitism (likely because you are too), you should at least learn about his FRAUD and history of LYING.

"I feel in my heart that Donald Trump has learned his lesson. I know in my heart he is a compassionate man, not a racist, and wants to do his best as President for all Americans. But, that's just my experiences (sic) and opinion."

God bless your broken heart, R100. You are in my thoughts and prayers...

130lbs!?!

I know all about Al Sharpton's past and I know that he's an opportunist, but he is has been spot on about Trump and is the voice black people need right now. He's a great orator. And I'll always remember how , when Pete Buttigieg was being ostracized by the black community (and Joy Reid), Al Sharpton was the first African American to interview him and kind of took him under his wing. He never had a bad word to say about Pete and saw his potential as a leader.

I'm sorry, for me he will always be a bloviator, opportunist, and greasy pussyhound. When Nicolle cutely refers to him as "Rev," I want to puke.

Martin Luther King Jr. must be doing cartwheels in his grave at the idea that someone like Al Sharpton would be a political figure taken seriously. King would have seen him for what he is, and it isn't pretty.

Sharpton and Bill O'Reilly often used to dine together at Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem.

Well, Jackie Kennedy had Martin Luther King Jr.'s number, as well. He was no saint.

"Well, Jackie Kennedy had Martin Luther King Jr.'s number, as well. He was no saint."

Jackie was an idiot. And no, Martin Luther King was not a saint, but as a civil rights leader he was the best there was. It's amazing what he accomplished; he knew in order to enact change it had to be done without riots and mayhem and killing. That was his way.

MLK Jr was a great civil rights leader and although a Christian reverend he was an academic plagiarist, unfaithful, and sexual abuser.

In other words, it takes on to know one. And Jackie, Martin, and Al are (were) all hypocrites, maybe Jackie the least.

"MLK Jr was a great civil rights leader and although a Christian reverend he was an academic plagiarist, unfaithful, and sexual abuser."

Who did he "sexually abuse?" That sounds like a trumped up charge.

not so trumped up. But it's too hot to handle by the right or the left in recent years so it just sits there, like his falsely attained doctoral degree. A few people know but its so inconvenient to know, it's not public knowledge. Public discourse does not have the sophistication to talk about such matters, nowadays.

people want things to be binaries - good. or bad. not mixed.

The people who have decided the Reverend Al is now a reformed man a great orator can't hold in mind the terrible rat fuck that was Tawana Brawley. Brawley was 15 or 16 and no matter how willingly she participated in that scandal, it was the "Reverend" Al who used her and everyone, effectively destroying Brawley's life and damaging the lives of many others. And he's never answered for that.

Garrow wrote that the FBI bugged two lamps in King's room at the Willard Hotel in Washington in January 1964, The Times said.

According to The Times, a memo accompanying the tape alleges King "looked on and laughed" as a pastor of Baltimore's Cornerstone Baptist Church raped a woman in the hotel room. The pastor died in 1991.

The FBI documents say King had a conversation in which he "discussed which women among the parishioners would be suitable for natural and unnatural sex acts," The Times wrote, citing Garrow's article.

"When one of the women protested that she did not approve, the Baptist minister immediately and forcibly raped her," The Times wrote, quoting the FBI documents.

Garrow wrote that the FBI agents did not intervene during the alleged rape.

According to Garrow's article, which quotes the documents: "At the same hotel the following evening, King and a dozen other individuals 'participated in a sex orgy.'"

"When one of the women shied away from engaging in an unnatural act, King and several of the men discussed how she was to be taught and initiated in this respect. King told her that to perform such an act would 'help your soul,'" The Times quoted the memo as saying.

He’s a charlatan.

If I were still of the biblical persuasion, I’d call him a “false prophet”.

I didn't realize at first that you weren't being literal.

^^^ Sharpton or MLK?

Many attempts were made (and are still being made, evidently) to smear MLK. About those tapes:

Documents describing secret FBI recordingsallege Martin Luther King Jr. had affairs with 40 women and watched on as a pastor raped a woman in the 1960s, a new report said.

According to London's The Times, an article written by the King biographer David Garrow and set to be published in the June edition of the UK magazine Standpoint details newly released FBI memos that discuss the tapes.

The tapes — sealed until 2027 in the US National Archives — hold recordings from bugs placed in hotel rooms King used in the 1960s, when they suspected his aide Stanley Levison was a Communist.

The King Center declined to comment on the report.

The tapes were made as part of an FBI surveillance project that began in 1955 and continued until King was assassinated in 1968, according to Stanford's Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute. The FBI was trying to gather negative information about King in hopes of using it to discredit him. Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was personally motivated to bring down King, according to the institute.

Given that context — and given Garrow's lack of access to the tapes themselves, in addition to the fact that the Standpoint article has not yet been published — Garrow's claims raise questions about the accuracy of the evidence and the motives of the FBI agents who created the documents. In a separate article describing the magazine's rationale for publishing the story, Standpoint's acting editor, Michael Mosbacher, said Garrow's work was previously rejected by The Guardian, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. A number of unnamed conservative magazines in the US also shied away. Mosbacher does not explain why they rejected it, although he implies they felt it was too controversial.