# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/61 "2018-09-06T21:56:14Z")
Ok. This is the second person who’s name I mixed up with someone else’s in ~3 days. I gotta get more sleep (I rarely get insomnia, but I haven’t slept more than an hour or two since either Sunday or Monday. I still don’t like the guy, but I completely, 100% withdraw the “anti-Semitic” comment. (Please note, I did this with authors John Scalzi and Charles Stross too over in CS, so this is not some sort of “They all look alike” sophomoric attempt at humor. I really did screw up here) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/62 "2018-09-06T21:58:27Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Oprah is the president of women. :smack: I get all those oppressed people mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/63 "2018-09-06T22:24:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If this is true, and I highly doubt it, will you be showing him [this one](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=830768) as well? Uh, good one. Way to stick it to the person mocking the racist! You go , girl. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/64 "2018-09-06T22:35:07Z")
I think Booker T. Washington was the last guy who was a spokesman for the Negro. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/65 "2018-09-06T22:38:33Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Ok. This is the second person who’s name I mixed up with someone else’s in ~3 days. I gotta get more sleep (I rarely get insomnia, but I haven’t slept more than an hour or two since either Sunday or Monday. Don’t feel bad. I managed to get mixed up over which funeral it was where Farrakhan appeared. Thereby making me the first person in history to confuse Aretha Franklin for John McCain. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/66 "2018-09-06T23:13:08Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > 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. How weird. Why would an obscure thread on a pretty ordinary message board hold the slightest interest for Al Sharpton do you think? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/67 "2018-09-06T23:56:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Don’t feel bad. I managed to get mixed up over which funeral it was where Farrakhan appeared. Thereby making me the first person in history to confuse Aretha Franklin for John McCain. Actually they made the same mistake when they got to heaven. They put Aretha in the Celestial Senate and McCain in the heavenly choir. Big mistake. Have you _heard_ his rendition of “People”? ---
**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 7, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/68 "2018-09-07T00:42:58Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Actually they made the same mistake when they got to heaven. They put Aretha in the Celestial Senate and McCain in the heavenly choir. Big mistake. Have you _heard_ his rendition of “People”? And his cover of “Natural Woman” was just weird. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/69 "2018-09-07T02:43:30Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > The only thing we Negroes didn’t do was vote Sharpton in as President. We knew better. Wait a minute… at the start of this whole thing it was “The Negro”, now it’s “we Negroes”… I think this is a developing situation and recommend that the OP hide as soon as possible somewhere that doesn’t have internet access. We’ll come and get you when it’s safe. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/70 "2018-09-07T02:45:25Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > “The Negro”? 😕 😕 > > And the idea of black Americans having a “spokesman” is either ridiculous or racist. (Or both, of course.) Token: “Jesse Jackson is not the emperor of black people!” Stan: “He told my dad he was…?” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/71 "2018-09-07T03:10:23Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Ok. This is the second person who’s name I mixed up with someone else’s in ~3 days. I gotta get more sleep (I rarely get insomnia, but I haven’t slept more than an hour or two since either Sunday or Monday. > > I still don’t like the guy, but I completely, 100% withdraw the “anti-Semitic” comment. > > (Please note, I did this with authors John Scalzi and Charles Stross too over in CS, so this is not some sort of “They all look alike” sophomoric attempt at humor. I really did screw up here) Maybe you’re just getting old? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mumberthax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea5d25/32.png) [@Mumberthax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mumberthax)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/72 "2018-09-07T12:08:46Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Don’t forget alcoholic! You forgot ‘woman-hating incel in mommy’s basement’. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/73 "2018-09-07T12:51:45Z")
I would have thought the OP would be asking how Samuel L. Jackson became the spokesman for the Negro in the US. I mean, he’s always on TV demanding to know what’s in peoples’ wallets, in a threatening manner. ---
**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 7, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/74 "2018-09-07T14:21:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Don’t feel bad. I managed to get mixed up over which funeral it was where Farrakhan appeared. Thereby making me the first person in history to confuse Aretha Franklin for John McCain. After Fox News, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/75 "2018-09-07T22:17:10Z")
People who are confused for each other: Barry White, Betty White. ---
**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 7, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/76 "2018-09-07T22:30:06Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > People who are confused for each other: > > Barry White, Betty White. I do love her rendition of “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More, Baby”. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/77 "2018-09-07T23:44:41Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Shall we start taking bets on how long this one will last? Fortunately, we haven’t started yet or I would have already been eliminated from the pool. ---
**Author:** ![Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shut_Up_Lutz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/78 "2018-09-08T15:46:28Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > '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) Is that the same Stokely Carmichael who was a gutless pussy cowardly bitch who ran away to Africa rather than staying in America and fighting for what he supposedly believed in? (Does Google Search) SURE WAS! So I guess that means that Martin Luther King JR was a racist and Uncle Tom because he used the word Negro all the time. Understood. ---
**Author:** ![Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shut_Up_Lutz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/79 "2018-09-08T15:55:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Don’t give a shit about that-Just tell us more about “The Negro”. I’m pretty sure the list of things you don’t give a shit about includes EVERYTHING but yourself. So just go back to picking your butthole and licking your fingers clean.:D:D:D As they approached a tollbooth near Baltimore someone was trying to lower the shade and the bus driver got distracted and plowed into cars at 60 mph. People were killed. It was on the news. At the end of the day a friend of mine who was on the bus approached two CLUB MTV dancers and overheard one saying to the other, “After all we’ve been through today your hair looks great.” ---
**Author:** ![Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Shut\_Up\_Lutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shut_Up_Lutz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-hell-did-al-sharpton-becomne-the-spokesman-for-the-negro-in-the-us-usurping-jesse-jackson/820831/80 "2018-09-08T16:00:01Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I wasn’t sure about the thread on Helen Keller’s virginity, but figured it might fit within our zany, whacky know-it-all culture. What exactly is “zany” or “whacky” about wanting to know the possible/probable sexual history of a historical figure? Or are you one of those creepy weirdos whose Mommy put clothespins on your dong when she caught you fapping when you were a little kid? And all through to today you think sex or any discussion of sex is creepy and gross. Or is it because you don’t think people who are handicapped should be allowed to have sex? How bigoted of you. [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=3) [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=5)