Rev. Al Sharpton

In 2000, all eyes turned towards Florida as voting ballots and accuracy were called into question during the highly contested presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. After weeks of wrangling and court hearings, in the end, just over 500 votes handed Bush the victory. But while much...

When most people hear the word 'war,' they instinctively think of conflict, the battlefield, mayhem and other adjectives used to describe the concept of fighting over land, resources etc. But there's another kind of warfare that exists, one that is ideological rather than physical. And perhaps nobody knows the concept...

Twenty years ago on April 29, 1992, four white LAPD officers were acquitted of assaulting motorist Rodney King despite the presence of videotaped footage of the horrific beating. The nation was fixated on the case, much like we are now with the tragic death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL....

Most young people today have studied the stories of the great civil rights struggle in this country and the heroic acts of many from all walks of life that eventually brought about change in America. While older generations may recall segregation or the disturbing days of water hoses and police...

I wait for an era when young Black men will no longer have to live in fear. Decades after the abolishment of slavery, we were haunted by the reality of being hunted down, beaten and lynched by both everyday citizens and law enforcement. Young boys like Emmett Till were openly...

Last night, we watched Willard Mitt Romney give another lackluster speech following his victory in Arizona and extremely slim win in Michigan. Once again devoid of passion, it was as if he was reading someone else's words without any clear vision of what his platform would be in office. At...

Earlier this week, die-hard Knicks supporter and filmmaker Spike Lee joined my MSNBC show 'Politics Nation' to discuss a little non-political news: basketball is back with a vengeance. Thanks to the impeccable, almost unbelievable skills of 23-year-old Jeremy Lin, the sport and the Knicks themselves have seen a shocking resurrection...

In public relations, 'spin' is the term people use when they would like a topic or story covered in a specific manner, in a certain light. In the realm of politics, unfortunately, some elected officials and their mouthpieces like to apply the same tactics while masking the truth from everyone....

After a decisive win in the state of Florida, you would think GOP hopeful Willard Mitt Romney would be more careful in his approach towards serious subject matters. But somehow, the self-proclaimed rich guy still manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Proudly showing his disdain and disregard...

For months, we've endured the back-and-forth banter among Republican presidential candidates as they fight for their party's nomination. Relentlessly tearing each other apart and proving just how contentious and petty they can be, these so-called front-runners exemplify what the GOP stands for at this very moment: obstruction & division. Last...

Every year, we pay homage to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the month of January. Most offices are closed, kids are home from school and people generally enjoy the day off from their normal routines. But how many of us take the time to emulate Dr. King's...

Last night, GOP candidate Willard Mitt Romney delivered what many believed to be a general election speech after winning the New Hampshire primary and setting his sights on South Carolina. But out of all of the grandiose statements made in his teleprompter-assisted speech, Romney's most outrageous and insulting words came...

As the new year begins, everyone's attention is intently focused on the 2012 elections this fall and the direction of the nation. But while we parse the primaries and assess the candidates, there is another battle about to take place in this nation's highest court that is just as vital....

Just a few days before the highly coveted Iowa caucuses, all we keep hearing is talk of who is up in the polls, who is down, who made the latest gaffe and who the most conservative GOP candidate is of them all. But while we can sit and argue all...

When African Americans and other disenfranchised groups were still vying for an opportunity to have their voices heard and participate in the social and political process of the nation they helped construct, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to legally push forward this ability. When folks like Dr....

In June of 2009, the economic recession was officially declared over. Despite the fact that millions remained unemployed, families were still foreclosed upon in record numbers and more children went hungry than most of us could have ever imagined, many had us buy into the notion that the worst was...

The Supreme Court's recent decision to listen and eventually rule on the President's health care bill cannot and should not be viewed in a vacuum. After conflicting rulings in lower courts over whether or not the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, the highest legal body in the nation will now...

If there's one thing we can take from yesterday's elections, it's the simple fact that power truly rests with the people. Despite tremendous money pouring in from conservative groups, individuals and think tanks, the American citizenry spoke out in volumes when they defeated Ohio's anti-labor measure, silenced Mississippi's attempts at...

It's high time we, the majority, take our country back:

When certain individuals began chanting their mantra of 'take our country back', the rest of us hoped that it wasn't a subliminal message to strip away this nation's advancements and take us back to some sort of...

Whenever we hear of horrific tragedies like the slaying of Zurana Horton, a 34-year-old mother of 13 who was killed by a stray bullet last Friday while shielding children outside of an elementary school in Brooklyn, we often ask ourselves how such a travesty could happen. We watch as mothers,...