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Q&A with the Head Rev. in Charge

Posted By: J.M.B | May 13, 2010 | No comments

I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Rev. Al Sharpton in an exclusive interview for the Tribuna. On May 2, Sharpton spoke as a guest minister at New Hope Baptist Church in Danbury, CT as they celebrated their 115th anniversary, and I had a front row seat for it. Being white in a room of probably 300 black people was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but everyone was very welcoming and friendly.

You could just feel the love inside those walls, especially when Rev. Sharpton stood up to preach. Although it was a special experience for myself as well, I can only imagine what it must have felt like as an African-American to be in the presence of a man who has done so much for the equal rights of minorities. The Reverend spoke of faith, struggles and change in a powerful (and not to mention animated) way. He even fist-pumped a few times, which was totally surreal.

After he spoke, he and his bodyguards made a sly exit into the office of the Pastor, and even though the service was not yet over, I decided to follow. Now… I’m not gonna lie to you, it might’ve just been me, but the moment that I walked into that office I could’ve sworn he gave me a look like “Why the hell is this white girl trying to talk to me right now?” But I introduced myself, busted out my recorder and dove into my questions.

On behalf of the Tribuna (which is printed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), the intent of the interview was to get Rev. Sharpton’s views and opinions on the Senate Bill recently passed in Arizona, which has sparked a huge amount of controversy regarding racial profiling. Obviously, he is completely against it and believes strongly that it’s a major infringement on Civil Rights. But I had only a few minutes to find out what he plans on doing about it, since he has quite the history of “doing something about it”.

The following is a transcript of the actual interview from Tribunact.com:

Q: What are your overall views on illegal immigration?

Sharpton: “I do not believe that we cannot secure the borders. We need to have some regulation, but I think the immigration bill in Arizona is wrong. I think the profiling and targeting of immigrants is wrong. I think that many [people] have come to this country and have become productive citizens and have contributed to this nation. I think that it is naïve at best and meanspirited to think that we’re going to take eleven or twelve million people and toss them out of the country. We should have an immigration reform policy that takes us from now going forward, but [as for] those that are here – you’re not going to get all of them out. To harass legal immigrants and harass people that have become productive citizens because you claim to be going after illegal immigrants is wrong. That’s why I’m going to fight it.”

Q: President Obama is quoted as saying that this bill “undermines the trust between police and our communities.” Do you agree with this statement? And do you think the Arizona police will abuse this policy?

Sharpton: “I think that the fact that they can abuse it is enough reason to have cause for [concern]. In the Phoenix area, the sheriff there, [Joe] Arpaio is raiding people, so clearly there’s been allegations of abuse that are under federal review now. [W]hy put in a law that would clearly open that door? I do not think all police are bad. I don’t even think most police are bad, but why subject the public to one or two that would cross the line and then have the law to back them up?”

Q: What does National Action Network plan on doing now that this law has passed?

Sharpton: “The job of activism is to keep an issue alive and in the public eye. Second, we have joined the Hispanic Federation and challenged it [the Arizona law] in court. And thirdly, we’re going to help to promote in Congress federal immigration reform laws that are fair – not the state-by-state laws that are set up for political purposes. I would like to see a law that would regard and respect those that are already here and have a sane policy going forward.”

Q: What do you think this means for the future of our country?

Sharpton: “In every crisis, there’s an opportunity. I think there’s an opportunity here for people across racial and ethnic lines to come together to see that African Americans and Latinos and progressive whites stand together on this issue. It could end up uniting more people then it divides.”

In conclusion, make of this what you will. Unfortunately for Rev. Sharpton, if his ultimate goal is to ensure equal rights for all minorities, he’s got a long, hard fight ahead of him. However, I don’t see him as having a problem with that.

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