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Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is calling out current leaders of the Black community for having "negro amnesia" and failing to recognize the efforts of the trailblazers that came before them.
According to Black Enterprise, Sharpton delivered a keynote address during the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, a nonpartisan event featuring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy members in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sharpton accused Black leaders of showing off their success without giving credit to past struggles and the pioneers who preceded them.
"We got a generation that doesn’t want to be tested,” Sharpton said. “If we’re going to turn this country around, we’re going to have to come back together.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker echoed Sharpton's sentiments, outlining the "three tools," including nonviolent protests, court cases, and voting, that Black leaders once used to push the civil rights movement forward.
“I’m proud to be here because you were one of my teachers, one of our teachers,” Parker said. “You were out front before it was a popular thing to do before it became a sexy thing to do.”
Sharpton also called out leaders for separating religion from politics, saying that he believes the two go hand in hand, as the Bible details stories of struggle and overcoming oppression. The civil rights leader also cited the work of Rev. Jesse Jackson and Philadelphia’s late Rev. Leon Sullivan.
To combat against "negro amnesia," Sharpton announced that he would be holding a march on Wall Street in New York on August 28 for the 62nd anniversary of the March on Washington.
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