Open Letter to Rev. Sharpton
22 January 2013

Dear Rev. Sharpton:

It is with heavy heart and after much reflection and prayer that I write this Open Letter to Rev. Sharpton.

Yesterday I attended the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s MLK/Inaugural Day Event. It featured many folks as Speakers and the Keynote Speaker was Bro. Harry Belafonte; over 80 years of age, he limped up on the stage aided by a cane. Bro. Belafonte looked back on the Black experience in America and spoke very strongly and passionately about the struggles of Black people. He touched on the wide differences in Black leaders of today vs. Black leaders of yesteryear. he even condemned stop and frisk by the NYPD. The speech is posted online at various places.

When he finished folks wildly applauded and some even shout "Belafonte for President".

Then the program shifted to CNN which streamed the Presidential Inauguration. I watched it carefully and left with tears in my eyes. I was very pained by Mr. Obama's total absence of any mention of Black People or Black issues. I watched and listened as Mr. Obama talked about issues relative to immigrants and gays--among others in front of a worldwide audience estimated to be over one billion in number. I was even further pained to watch the speakers following Mr. Obama. First, there was a gay Hispanic poet who talked about the struggles of gays and immigrants. Then, there was minister who among other things said prayers for gays. NOT ONE SPEAKER WOULD TOUCH ON BLACK ISSUES. Is this what Black folks voted for?

I am very clear when someone wishes to elevate a group or an issue--and attach importance to them--or the issue, they surround themselves with those persons and often talk about the matter as so to convey to everyone that THEY want it known the importance affixed to those persons and/or that subject matter. It also clearly serves to warn everyone to not cause trouble for the relevant person/group being featured. That's not hard to understand. I wonder why going into four plus years in the White House, Mr. Obama STILL has trouble publicly discussing Black pain and the issues unique to Black folks--such as very high rates of unemployment and stop and frisk--among many others. It is quite clear to me watching yesterday's program that going forward the favored groups are gays and immigrants--and to hell with Black folks.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if Mr. Obama were to open his mouth yesterday-or today about stop and frisk. I am clear that ONE TELEPHONE call from Mr. Obama to Mayor Bloomberg could stop NYPD abuses. WHY HASN'T THAT CALL BEEN MADE? NOW REV. AL YOU BASK IN THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT AS THE "MOST POWERFUL BLACK LEADER" IN AMERICA TODAY. IS THAT REAL--ARE YOU THE MOST POWERFUL BLACK LEADER? IF you are then, why can't YOU get Mr. Obama to discuss stop and frisk--and other Black issues such and refusal of Banks to offer mortgages to Black folks? I am now thru prayer and reflection trying to understand what is wrong with this picture--a picture that has Rev Al Sharpton posed as the leader of Black America.

Now that Mr. Obama is safely in a second term--can Blacks get some public statements by Mr. Obama telling the world he will not tolerate stop and frisk abuses and insist that Black unemployment be addressed? Recently Mr. Obama talked about high unemployment among gays, immigrants and military veterans and he set up federally funded programs to address those specific groups' unemployment. I accuse YOU, Rev Al of fraud. The whole voter suppression issue YOU pushed thru the just finished election cycle was largely a creation of YOU and NAN to aid Mr. Obama's reelection bid. I believe it was a manufactured crises to distract large numbers of Blacks from the wide spread dissatisfaction many Blacks had and still have with Mr. Obama because he spent vast amounts of his political capital pushing gay issues but all the while of his first term not once speaking about the various struggles of Blacks in America. YOU pushed it hard to distract Blacks--now Black folks have woke up and are very angry with YOU and MR. OBAMA. Oh there more, For three years Mr. Obama in fact deported more illegal immigrants than any US President in American history. Then months before the election, Mr. Obama tells federal law enforcement NOT to enforce the laws against illegal immigration.

I find it awefully odd that not once did Mr. Obama nor his Attorney General Eric Holder publicly talk about this alleged voter suppression fiction. Moreover, since the election I don't hear anyone talking about voter suppression--it's as if it just disappeared. Rev. Al I accuse YOU of MORE fraud. After six years of faithful attendance at weekly NAN rallies, I can no longer sit there week after week and watch the NAN show each Saturday, although I still tune in on the radio each week. I am repulsed that nearly every week a motley collection of fake politicians mount the rostrum at NAN and deliver nothing to the Black folks assembled. It sickens my beyond words that the likes of a detestable racist Christine Quinn is allowed into NAN.

I am sickened that one Julie Menin and others gets on that stage and do nothing but drool over YOU Rev Al Sharpton but bring NOTHING concrete to and for Black folks. I wanted to puke last week at the NAN Mayoral forum, first when YOU let Ms. Quinn into NAN and second when YOU let her LIE to Black folks when she stated she never favored anyone for NYPD Police Commissioner. The public record shows many times where Quinn publicly stated if she was Mayor Ray Kelly would be her Police Commissioner. I accuse YOU of even more fraud; in recent months YOU have given to blasting those in the Black community who criticize YOU as themselves frauds and malcontents and other such appellations. NAN members and others have a right to express their displeasure and if YOU don't like it then YOU need to understand that those very faithful NAN members make YOU who YOU are each week by filling up the NAN auditorium. Please do not be contemptuous, dismissive or short-tempered with those of us who disagree with you. Oh, there is even more fraud that I accuse YOU of; your weekly Sunday Hour of Power radio show has the same caller each week "Michael from the Bronx" calling in these softball questions to you. Its' time YOU give voice to some of your critics.

Back to Ms. Quinn; I pronounce her a racist; she is the putative head of NYC gay community. but the truth of the matter is Quinn runs the gay community by and for the sole benefit of white lesbians. Gays/lesbians of color can go to hell. Have YOU ever seen a gay/lesbian of color in Quinn's company? No YOU don't and NO you won't! Moreover, if you study the public record, ALL of the GAY MONEY (that is Mr. Obama's gifts of tens of millions of dollars of federal funds and corporate donations) goes to white lesbians controlling these various LGBT groups. What's more, savage hate crimes against gays and lesbians of color don't draw Ms. Quinn's interest. Why is that? Last week it was publicly reported that 8 NYPD goons brutally beat a gay Black man--almost to death. Neither YOU nor Ms. Quinn opened your mouth about it. Three years ago two black lesbians were nearly beaten to death just outside the 77th Police Pct. by NYPD goons and Quinn has yet to speak out about it. The only public leaders to rollout on that case was the City Councilmember Tish James. If YOU are the most powerful Black leader in America then YOU need to publicly and forcefully confront Quinn on these issues.

Last fraud charge I lay against YOU; on Christmas Day YOU let NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly into NAN for a photo op and claimed it was because YOU were working with Kelly on gun violence. YOU were brutally insensitive to the feelings of many who dislike Kelly. I note it was just a few months ago that Kelly (1) promoted to Sgt the white cop who murdered the Black cop Omar Edwards and days later (2) Kelly gave a hand gun to the NYPD cop Ken Boss who shot and killed Diallo. Kelly publicly promised the Community that Boss would NEVER carry a gun as long as Kelly was Police Commissioner. Kelly lied and re-armed Diallo's killer who was on no gun status for the past 13 years. And YOU never opened your mouth about it! YOU don't need Kelly to fight gun violence; clearly YOU can work with the District Attorneys and Federal and State law enforcement official--YOU really don't need to legitimize Kelly by letting him into NAN. Please have some sense of the pain Blacks have toward Kelly.

Rev. Al ALL day today I will be praying and fasting for YOU with prayful hope that things will change. Make Quinn open her financial books and show YOU the money and where it went. Demand to obtain a breakdown of the racial lines of: (1) her NYC Council staff and (2) the staff demographics of the various LGBT groups and their funds that Quinn controls.


Respectfully submitted,

Joe Gonzalez
joeiscalling@yahoo.com
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s. e. anderson
author of The Black Holocaust for Beginners
www.blackeducator.org
www.blackeducator.blogspot.com
If WORK was good for you, the rich would leave none for the poor. (Haiti)
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From: S. E. Anderson <seanderson@mail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 2:27 PM
Subject: [BlackLeftUnity:6484] Open Letter to Rev. Sharpton

SUBMITTED BY: Yusuf Nuruddin

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