# How the hell did Al Sharpton becomne the spokesman for the Negro in the US, usurping Jesse Jackson **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 5, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831 "2018-09-05T20:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/21 "2018-09-05T22:02:15Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Beyonce in a walkover, if the election were fair. Beyoncé doesn’t have to bother with the nasty competition of an election; she’s already Queen, and I don’t mean of just black people. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/22 "2018-09-05T22:10:00Z")
He got old, like your schtick. Do you miss him? Don’t worry, the loud black man can’t scare you any more. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/23 "2018-09-05T22:28:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Lebron James, Jay Z, Dave Chapelle, Kanye West, Colin Kaepernick, and Spike Lee are all entertainment figures. They may be famous but they lack the gravitas to be seen as spokesman. Being an entertainment figure doesn’t necessarily mean one lacks gravitas. This is especially true for the case of Lee who has spent the last three decades using art to provoke discussion on racial matters. Lebron and Kaepernick are currently making a case for themselves outside of their entertainment fields with their social justice movements and Lebron’s new school. They are serious men who are making serious attempts to address the problems facing black people today. They’ve earned the right to call themselves spokespersons. In re OP - Sharpton is a spokesperson because he is, and always has been, really good tv. Sometimes star quality gets mistaken for gravitas, if you don’t look at it closely. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/24 "2018-09-05T23:25:29Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > . . . What else you got? Anything on moon landings? Pyramids? If you want to go straight to the deep end, you could start extolling the many virtues of Trump. We love talking about those. But no pyramids built with geysers. That’s been done. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/25 "2018-09-06T00:40:20Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > But no pyramids built with geysers. That’s been done. IT CAN WORK DAMMIT (obligatory lower case text) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/26 "2018-09-06T01:15:44Z")
Oh good - a Negro Safe Space, here. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/27 "2018-09-06T02:18:07Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > But no pyramids built with geysers. That’s been done. But not by stinky-footed yokels. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/28 "2018-09-06T02:59:08Z")
This sock keeps coming back, how sad is that? Move on with your life. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/29 "2018-09-06T03:18:22Z")
Don’t be shy - name and shame! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/30 "2018-09-06T03:42:42Z")
His other posts have been equally combative and jerkish: he revived a five-year-old thread in order to scold WordMan about his opinion regarding a Beatles book: > **[A new, definitive bio of The Beatles - first of a three-parter](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=707431)** > > http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/11/mark\_lewisohn\_s\_beatles\_biography\_tune\_in\_reviewed.html. By Mark Lewisohn, the guy who wrote the definitive books on their day-to-day studio work at Abbey Road, the gear they used, their gig schedules... I’d say we should pit Lutz, but I’m not sure that he’s going to last long. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/31 "2018-09-06T04:05:03Z")
Largely irrelevant to anything, but I’ve noted from watching a few of the televised Congressional hearings that Tim Scott always comes across as one of the few people who is asking questions that are the sorts of questions one would ask if you were doing your job, rather than the sorts of questions you would ask to try and raise your profile on TV. There’s not very many admirable Republicans these days, but Scott is one of them and I trust him when he says that he has stooped as low as necessary to try and work with President Trump to help African Americans. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/32 "2018-09-06T13:01:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Huh. I would have thought Dave Chappelle or Jay-Z would have had that locked up. I assumed it was Kanye. If you think that’s an insulting thing to say, bear in mind that the spokesman for white Americans is Donald Trump, so, hey, everything is relative. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/33 "2018-09-06T13:04:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Don’t forget blood and sweat. Hold the toil tough, not a fan of toil. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/34 "2018-09-06T13:25:45Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Beyonce in a walkover, if the election were fair. But that would have required the job to be spokesperson. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/35 "2018-09-06T13:34:17Z")
I know the Rev. Al and his family. I’m printing out this thread and giving it to them. I’m not contributing to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/36 "2018-09-06T13:54:30Z")
Wait. I thought that **I** was their leader. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/37 "2018-09-06T13:58:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “The Negro”? Maybe he’s actually [Cliven Bundy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/04/24/cliven-bundys-outrageous-comments-about-the-negro/). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/38 "2018-09-06T13:59:10Z")
Dennis Haysbert would make a good spokesman, what with that sonorous voice of his. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/39 "2018-09-06T14:11:35Z")
Dude. You think Sharpton is “their leader” simply because _Fox tells you they have one, and it’s currently him_. Can you think of a possible reason they might do that? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/40 "2018-09-06T14:12:04Z")
'Negro" … Wow, I can’t remember the last time I heard that word, outside of historical documentaries, that is. [**When did the word “Negro” go out of style?**](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/01/when_did_the_word_negro_become_taboo.html) > [@](#): > > It started its decline in 1966 and was totally uncouth by the mid-1980s. The turning point came when Stokely Carmichael coined the phrase black power at a 1966 rally in Mississippi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831.md?page=3)