Posted on 04/07/2006 2:58:47 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand
Here in New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton tends to be seen as a perennial political outsider and gadfly - his detractors inevitably dismiss him as a publicity-seeking hustler - but that cynical, out-of-date view ignores the impressive political network Sharpton has diligently been building from coast to coast. In a dozen or so black communities where elders tend to monopolize leadership of the churches, schools, civic groups, political clubs and other key institutions, Sharpton has been busy grooming young, ambitious candidates for office.
By playing the role of mentor, promoter and fund-raiser, Sharpton does what many shortsighted black politicians refuse to do: actively encourage youngsters to join the struggle against poverty, broken schools, corruption and other inner-city ills.
Sharpton's approach should be copied by pols in communities where new blood and new ideas are desperately needed.
A batch of hopefuls from Generation Al - many of whom were in New York City this week for the annual meeting of Sharpton's National Action Network - has been particularly active lately. The list includes Yaphet El-Amin, a 35-year-old from St. Louis who became the first female Muslim to hold state office in Missouri when voters elected her to the legislature in 2002. She is running for state Senate this year.
Alicia Reece, an officer in Sharpton's organization who served as vice mayor of Cincinnati and lost a race for mayor last year, is considered a rising star. Brooklyn's own Kirsten Foy, one of Sharpton's staff members, is running for a district leadership in Crown Heights this fall.
And then there's the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, Sharpton's national youth director.
The 17-year-old from Phoenix, a college freshman who has been preaching since he was 10, is so much a Sharpton clone that he wears his hair in the same trademark conked-out style.
"I had my hair like this before I met Rev. Sharpton, but after I met him I decided to keep it," says Maupin. "It's a power look."
Maupin made an unsuccessful bid for the Phoenix City Council last year and plans to mount a run for school board this year.
Sharpton not only holds fund-raisers and stumps for his protégés, he freely connects them to political heavy-hitters. This morning, for instance, they will be meeting with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is set to give a breakfast talk to Sharpton's group.
The reverend's interest in grooming young leaders dates to his own background as the Wonder Boy, a prodigy who began delivering sermons in Brooklyn's Washington Temple Church as a first-grader.
At age 10, Sharpton preached a sermon before 10,000 at the World's Fair. By the time he was a teenager, Sharpton had attracted the attention of the late Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, becoming part of the Harlem congressman's entourage. Whenever Powell came to town, he'd ask for "the kid."
Sharpton's decision to pass along the sort of mentoring he received stands in stark contrast to the way black politicians in New York and elsewhere cling to office for decades on end, passing their seats to relatives like heirlooms and doing everything in their power to drive newcomers away. But while the old guard gets older, Sharpton - who's mulling another run for President in 2008 - is smartly playing the odds, collecting friends, fans and favors among a network of up-and-comers who will likely be running cities, states and Congress before long.
The reverend won't just have powerful friends. To the consternation of his enemies, he'll also get the last laugh.
If Al is in the In Crowd, then I'm thankful to be in the Cynical and Out-of-Date Crowd.
networking communists who masquerade as Americans.
For years Sharpton maintained his flock so they could be sheared. Louis seems to be saying he now has turned a new leaf and he's there only to help them. I am skeptical.
Bro Al has the old tried and true formula; Hate those honkys, Blacks are victims, da Man is the cause of all yor problems, I am going to get mo money from the gubment for ya.
True, that I did, but will wager Bro Al didn't.
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