By Ray Cardello for May 20, 2023, Season 19 / Post 35

Al Sharpton and before him Jesse Jackson, created their careers on racism. They have stoked division and kept the concept of systemic racism alive because it was a revenue stream they needed to satisfy their greed. There has never been a racially-centered event in my lifetime where one or both of these men were front and center. They profess to be men of the holy cloth, but in reality, they are men of the bloody cloth. Give them a crisis, a shooting victim, or any event that involves people of two colors, and Al is on the horn getting his first-class tickets. You can always find him front and center at the memorial service but rarely at the conference table, working on solutions. Solutions do not have the impact of an emotional eulogy.

You will rarely see The Good Reverend Al in Chicago speaking out against Black-on-Black violence because the Windy City does not fit his narrative. He is only interested in black victims of white acts. Sharpton has his platforms on MSNBC and his National Action Network. He could use these platforms to educate the Black and Brown communities, but spawning hatred is far more profitable.

Al was present at the service this week for Jordan Neely, who died in a New York subway car after being subdued by a rider who saw him as a threat to the passengers in the car. The case is still under investigation, but that did not stop Al from using his time in the spotlight to condemn Marine veteran Daniel Perry. Sharpton is playing judge and jury to placate the black community in Harlem, demanding justice for Neely.

Sharpton is a dangerous man, and this is the perfect time for a man with his reach and talents to start defining how he will impact the 2024 elections. Communities like Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are at a boiling point. The Blacks and Browns are feeling maligned by the Whites, but they are also being squeezed for services by the illegal migrants who are transported from the Border to these major cities. This crisis is the perfect storm for Sharpton to stoke the flames of racism.

Systemic Racism in America is a myth. It is also a tool used to leverage power, and Al is a master at keeping the aura of racism alive. He feeds on it and parses it to his flock. In 2020, Al jumped on the Reparations Bandwagon and used it as a litmus test for the Presidential candidates. As the movement for reparations has intensified, you can count on Al Sharpton to work it locally and nationally. He will probably join forces with Cori Bush (D-MO) and her drive for a national plan to address reparations. The Bush plan has a price tag of $16 Trillion, but that means nothing on the Left. Just throw it on the tab and stop whining.

Blacks should see through this ruse. Reparations, like Student Loan Forgiveness, is an empty promise to garner votes. Gavin Newsom formed the Reparations Committee in California, and when they came back with their recommendations, he squashed it, but it had already paid dividends. The reparations carrot was dangled in front of Blacks before the 2022 election, and it paid off with votes cast for Democrats. It may work in 2024, but that carrot must be dipped in chocolate to work again.