Rev. Al Sharpton wins endorsements

Four were members of the City Council: Charles Barron, Larry Seabrook, Jose Serrano and Majority Leader Joel Rivera. Dr. Roscoe Brown, Director of the City University of New York, and Sabrina Evans, representative of Congressman Adolphus Towns' office, joined them. Barron also stated that Congressman Jose Serrano (father of Council Member Serrano) Newark Mayor Sharpe James, and Percy Sutton wish it announced that they, too, are solidly behind Rev. Sharpton's campaign.

Council Member Barron, who is a New York City mayoral candidate for 2005, began by laying the foundation of why they back Sharpton. "We believe that Sharpton's is the only campaign that will bring real substance to communities of color," he said. "He has had a long history of supporting our issues. Largely due to him, racial profiling is now a national issue. His campaign will keep it part of a national discussion. Affirmative action and reparations will be clear issues. We're looking also at building more schools instead of more jails and at the transfer of money from the military budget to the education."

Barron also commented that people can feel that here is someone who will champion their cause. He pointed out, "We need this kind of campaign after the way we were disenfranchised in Florida. A Sharpton campaign will increase voter participation in the community because it will give people more reason to come out to vote. When Sharpton ran for senate, registration increased by nearly 300,000."

Barron addressed the fact that some people say Sharpton can't win. "We have to determine what winning is for us," he declared. "We can't lose supporting Sharpton. We gain more from a solid, unified coalition around a Sharpton campaign - win, lose or draw - than we gain from backing any other candidate, even if they win the Democratic primary. History has shown us that this party needs a power broker movement to keep it honest."

Council Member Larry Seabrook stated, "Rev. Sharpton represents the issues of the communities that have been left out. He provides them with the opportunity to be heard. He will bring to the presidential debates a passionate understanding of their concerns and of what must be done for this nation."

There was a touch of levity with the seriousness as Seabrook added about Al Sharpton's qualifications, "Rev. Sharpton certainly has all the intellectual capacity to be the President of the United States. His intellectual capacity will certainly match what is in the Whitehouse right now!"

Joel Rivera spoke about the fact that Rev. Sharpton spent 90 days in jail to insure that the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico - who are US citizens - would be liberated from the continual bombing by their own government. "That was a major issue for the Puerto Rican and Latino community," he said. "This is a prime example of what Rev. Sharpton represents: equality for the entire nation and a voice for human rights across the world."

In Congressman Towns' endorsement, which was read by Sabrina Evans, he observed, "Rev. Sharpton and I share a common goal: the establishment of a new majority in our nation coming from a diverse group of aligned communities that are yet to receive their fair share of government representation." And in relation to the feasibility of Sharpton's run, he quoted the words of Senator Robert Kennedy, "Some people look at the world the way it is and ask, 'Why?' I look at what the world could be and ask, 'Why not?'"

Dr. Roscoe Brown spoke of having been a delegate to the Democratic National Convention when Jesse Jackson ran for president and stated, "Here we are 20 years later. We have Rev. Sharpton stepping up to take the place in terms of political activism. There's no one better at articulating our issues than Sharpton. His razor sharp intelligence, his ability to put a face on the issues are qualities that attract me and many others in the Black, Latino, Asian and progressive white communities. So just as we made history in 1984, I certainly expect we'll make history in 2004 with Rev. Sharpton's campaign."

The final speaker was Council Member Jose Serrano who noted that Sharpton brings to the Democratic presidential race issues and concerns that normally would be ignored by the candidates: racial profiling, affirmative action, rights for those who are disenfranchised and marginalized in this society. "We can't count on the current field to deal with those things without Sharpton there really pushing that platform," he commented. "If you listen to his message you will see that Rev. Al Sharpton has the most progressive agenda, one that speaks to the heart of the average working person."