Al Sharpton Quotes

My ordination in the Church of God in Christ was at age 9, and I later became a Baptist minister, which I am today.

We're not anti-police... we're anti-police brutality.

The dream was not to put one black family in the White House, the dream was to make everything equal in everybody's house.

I grew up in the 1950s and '60s, when it was almost a holiday when a black act would go on Ed Sullivan.

We have defeated Jim Crow, but now we have to deal with his son, James Crow Jr., esquire.

I do believe that the party has a bunch of elephants running around in donkey clothes.

I've never seen a prosecutor hold a press conference to discredit the victim.

I've seen enough things to know that if you just keep on going, if you turn the corner, the sun will be shining.

If Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house.

Life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.

But resist we much. We must and we will much about that be committed.

While the rest of the country waves the flag of Americana, we understand we are not part of that. We don't owe America anything - America owes us.

Who defines terrorists? Today's terrorist is tomorrow's friend.

It seems some have chosen to ignore or have simply forgotten the big-picture vision promoted by Dr. King and his kin.

When you're dealing with boycotts, you don't need everyone. You just need enough to be effective.

America has to make America become a better place for all Americans, and that's all of us participating.

I am in hell already. I am in Israel.

There are white n*ggers. I've seen a lot of white n*ggers in my time.

What’s wrong with denouncing white interlopers?

We need to make some real fundamental change from the Constitution down in this country.

We're not willing to give black leaders second chances because, in most cases, we're not willing to give them first chances.

My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order.

The United States government has the obligation to educate all young people in this country.

We may switch presidents, but we're just going to switch legs and keep on marching.

We need an amendment that gives us the right to vote protected by the federal government and the Constitution.

If Charlton Heston can have a constitutional right carry a rifle, why can't grandma have a constitutional right to health care?

If you play the theatrics too much, you get in the way of your own cause.

Dr. King used Gandhi's commitment to non-violence and to passive resistance.

I can't see how an unarmed man rejecting a drug deal ended up dead.

Dr. King's general principles are universal. But the things he confronted took place in another era.

I very rarely read any fiction. I love biographies; I read about all kinds of people. I love theology and some philosophy.

We blacks had problems in the '60s and we solved them by marching. We've still got problems - let's march.

I've never done anything else in my life other than preach and be an activist. Way before I was known.

If O.J. had been accused of killing his black wife, you would not have seen the same passion stirred up.

Better to die of something than to die in old age of nothing.

During my 2004 presidential campaign, I was fond of saying that it was high time for the Christian right to meet the right Christians.

Getting Democrats organized is like herding cats.

We won't back down! We won't be trumped!

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.

I've seen too much in life to give up.

National Action Network, the group I founded, has affiliates or chapters in over 40 cities around the country.

John Lewis is an icon in our society.

It's a difficult thing for a city to be sued by the department of justice and to be told that your police department is systematically failing to serve the people of the state or the city.

I think everybody understood what happened, why this consent decree came about after the Freddie Gray situation. There was tension on both sides.

I think that you can't choose leadership. You have to deal with the leadership that the people respond to.

People have a right to be nervous and fearful. They heard what Trump said during the campaign and are wondering if he'll follow through on his promises.

People in the age of [President] Obama don't dress like they did in the age of [Lyndon] Johnson. That's for sure.

We just have to hope and pray that this man [Donald Trump] is changed in terms of how he views the world community.

John Lewis being attacked as "talk, talk, talk" by president-elect [Donald] Trump because he said he didn't consider him a legitimate president.

I need to hear something about how he's going to bring people together in the spirit, hopefully, of Martin Luther King Jr., and if that's not heard, then we've got to constantly challenge him.