Under the direction of Rev. Al Sharpton, more than 1,000 religious leaders rallied in Washington D.C. on Monday. Organizers called it the "One Thousand Ministers March for Justice", and it was followed by a rally near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The march was not spontaneous, nor was the date insignificant it coincided with the 54th anniversary of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Sharpton called on religious leaders of all faiths and backgrounds to come out and show their support for the cause. "We wanted 1,000 rabbis, Sikhs, imams, Christian ministers of all denominations because we wanted to say this nation is in moral trouble," Rev. Sharpton said. And show up they did:
Trouble in Charlottesville
Even though it was planned months in advance, for many the march took on special significance due to the tragic events in Charlottesville several weeks before.
"Charlottesville gave it a new energy, and a lot of ministers called in saying that this is the time to make a moral statement," Sharpton noted.
"Our hope is that when you looked at those Nazis carrying torches talking about 'You will not replace us,' we can contrast that with rabbis linking arms with Baptist ministers and Muslims marching in the spirit of Dr. King," Rev. Sharpton told a crowd before the march. "They went to Robert E. Lee's monument. We're going to King's monument and marching to the Justice Department."
Jewish Support
For many Jews, the events in Charlottesville were particularly chilling. However, it also seemed to create a renewed determination. Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, offered his thoughts:
"We Jews will march for 5,000 more years if that's what it takes to make sure that all people experience compassion and justice and equality. We know that it's our jobs as Jews to always show up and beat back the forces of white supremacy, racism and hate of all forms."
Faith and Politics Collide
Throughout American history, faith and politics have often intersected. There were countless religious groups involved in the Civil Rights movement, for example. It shouldn't be surprising, really religion deals primarily with moral issues, many of which invade the political sphere with some frequency. It's inevitable for some overlap to occur.
Clearly, religious leaders believe that moral boundaries have been crossed, so they sprang into action. Do you agree? Would you have joined the march, if given the chance?
37 comments
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Doug Barron
I agree. Sharpton is a professional race baiter. After he pays his millions in back taxes, and then condemns ALL violent hate groups; KKK, white supremicists, black supremecists, anti-factists, La Raza, among others, then I might listen to him. Until then.. Jesus didn't condemn the common sinner; He soundly condemned the Pharisee. Al Sharpton is a Pharisee.
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James
Agreed!
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Clayton Beardmore
I agree with both John and Doug (above). Every time I see anything with "Rev. Al Sharpton" in the description, I feel like I'm going to vomit.
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John Maher
HEY THREE MORE BIGOTs from the VILLAGE of tRUMPIE IDIOTS,JOHN,DOUG BARRON, CLAY sounds like a song of IGNORANCE, or the 3 STOOGES MAYBE ??? DUMP the IGNORAMUS COWARD CRIMINAL TRAITOR tRUMP, GOD is GREAT so is the US of A, GO AL SHARPTON, GO !!!
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Christopher L Wood
Well John educationally you should be sent back to school. If you think Al Sharpton isn't a plight on society you need that education.
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Rev Ned
I think the word is "blight".
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Rev. Barnes
The word blight is defined as " to cause to wither or decay." Rather than attacking the person (Rev. Al Sharpton and committing the fallacious argument called Ad Hominem where the arguer downgrades the person whom made a valid argument without addressing the original argument) perhaps you all should speak about Rev. Sharptons argument and display that ALL of us should unite? Then, by all means please stop using "the straw man" whereby the arguer creates a distorted view of the original argument, demolishies the fake argument and try to pass off the "staw man" as if you defeated Al Sharpton argument that : WE ALL NEED TO COME TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY.
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Alicia
Thank you for showing your true colors by calling Trump supporters "idiots", Trump an "ignoramus coward criminal traitor" and by supporting the most racist Al Sharpton. WTG on your ignorance.
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Jim D.
Alicia, you can't fix stupid. All you can do is point it out, pity it, and then avoid it.
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Christopher L Wood
My country was built on free speech, i have no argument on that issue. Without the media that rally would have came and went. I suggest this. If a pro or anti side wish to protest fine the other side must wait for their turn to do like wise not at the same time. Make it a federal offence to rally together where the issue becomes the tool for the media. Make the penalty so harsh that the loss of one life outweighs the issue. Without the media that life would still be rallying today.
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angel
What, this racist now wants unity?? He's the one responsible for the racial division to begin with. However, I am willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt. People change and I agree that unity is in order. Perhaps this will continue and we can actually work towards some type of unity as a society as a whole. My only concern is ...where are the Wiccan's? If you want TRUE unity, you invite ALL religions! Just sayin'!
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Rev. Dr. Michael R Perez, Ph.D., M.Th., M.Div.
I agree with you, Angel, but lets call a spade a spade, and by it's proper name,,,it's not 'Wicca'. Those practitioners who choose to use this antiquated term do not have the courage of their convictions - they are Witches. I know this because I am married to one, and have been happily married to my little Witch for nearly 15 years. My wife is the kindest, most loving and accepting, and most peaceful individual I have ever met. She is exactly what every Christian professes to be aspiring to, yet so very few actually achieve. She holds to the Witches Creed of, "Do as ye will, but HARM NONE!" And this Creed extends to all things in nature, not just people. Are there "Dark Witches"...yes, there are...that is the way of nature, with all things in balance, both good and, unfortunately, bad as well. And the practice of Witchcraft has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Satan. It is not Satan worship, even among the Dark Witches. Satan worship is entirely different and separate. A true Witch would have nothing to do with Satan nor any type of evil. Witches simply worship a female deity, as opposed to a male one, or as with my wife, she always gives praise and thanks to Mother and Father God...again, all things in balance...male and female.
But it is good to see someone willing to truly include all religious practices. You go, and Blessed Be!-
Jim D.
My ex-wife is a witch. That's why I divorced her. I didn't want to be next to her when someone drops a house on her.
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Ed
Seems the overall consensus is that Sharpton's a professional race baiter, which he clearly is. He, along with Obama and Holder, are one of the direct reasons why, over almost the last decade, we've had more racial divide then decades prior. What does that say about ULC, or at least, this part of ULC, to actually promote a story about him on its main page?
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Sean
Al Sharpton is no reverend, more like an ambulance chaser and sensationalist. I'm married to a jewish woman and nether her or her family felt the faux horror you would like everyone to believe. As has become typical in this country no one even claims this article as their own thoughts and writing.
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Ken
Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson has done more to set back Martin Luther King's work than anyone in history, yet they are praised as great leaders, they are along with the backing of George Soros and have always been the reason for uneasy at exists today, they thrive for the media attention and they are rewarded as this webpage has also done for them, stop watching fake news and to some real studying if you want to know the truth, all Trump has done is ask Congress to revisit Obamas illegal passing of DACA by bypassing Congress with an executive order, of course Congress did nothing as they were afraid they would be called raciest as that was the theme for the last presidency, hence Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson with Soros's money.
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Ron
Love God, Love each other as Christ Loved the Church. Problems solved
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Rev. CC
THIS! A++++++
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Cindy Murten
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are nothing but Race baiters hiding behind the cloth claiming to be religious. Yes this country is in Turmoil but it's going to take everyone to straighten things out.
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patrick conroy
I agree with the Characterization of Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson in the above comments. They have done serious damage to the civil rights movement in the past. While I am white half of my family is black so i have a different perspective on this particular issue than a lot of people. My Brother in law is 60 and grew up in South Philly in the 60's and 70's. He would agree with you about the damage they have done. On the other hand he has experienced racism first hand on numerous occasions and feels like while we had made a lot of progress going into the 80's we seem to have been stuck there for the last 30 years. I agree with him. Having lived in the south, the north and the West in that time and being a socially aware person, I too feel like we just kinda stopped moving forward. Things just kinda boiled under the surface and while I agree that the last 6 to 7 years have been bad I disagree with the statement that its because of Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and President Obama. Jackson and Sharpton definitely haven't helped with the rhetoric they put out, but classing Obama with them is just wrong. He has tried to measure his words and has repeatedly called for peaceful protests in the face of hate and soundly condemned the ambushes of Police. While i don't agree with a lot of his politics and I didn't vote for him as president i would support him and will support him as a civil rights leader, if he chooses to put himself out there. Furthermore I see a lot of antagonistic comments above and not much in the way of how to fix this. One of the things we need to do is focus on fixing the issue and moving forward instead of blaming each other. Racial inequality is real and it is up to everyone to fix it. We need to find a way to better educate everyone in the U.S., and by education i mean High school, college opportunities and that means spending money and taking the time to clean up our inner cities and rural america, where education opportunities are few and far between. We have the money in this nation to do what we need to do we just have to prioritize where we are spending it and how. Think on this, If a bad person does something good do we condemn him/her for it because of his/her prior bad acts or should we instead use it as an example of how to make the changes in their life to be/do good?
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Bill Fox
If preachers promote violent rebellion, racism and hate from the pulpit, it seems ingenuous to march against what is promoted.
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Rick Oskin
sharpton, racist and liar, I am blocking your hate site right now!
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Alicia
How sad that Al Sharpton is taking his march to the MLK monument. Dr. King will be rolling over in his grave. Does Sharpton even know what Dr. King stood for? I think not.
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Rev. Dr. Michael R Perez, Ph.D., M.Th., M.Div.
Hey Johnny, don't bail out...stick to your guns and hang in. I am a minister of God, however, I am also a Traditionalist Apache, meaning that I practice the traditional religious practices that my people have followed for the last 10,000 years. We practiced monotheism long before it was even a dream to the Hebrews. Yet we were persecuted due to a lack of understanding of our ways. And, I'm married to a practicing Witch! And yes, I fully expect to get blasted here over these statements, but the blasters are the ones who need to find God. Jesus taught tolerance and acceptance, yet our answer is usually to stomp upon or silence those who hold a different belief system or idea. I have often been asked by those whom I counsel spiritually, why are there so many different religions...my answer...because God is too big for just one religion. There are many paths to God, and it is not our place to push anyone into a mold nor into something that makes them uncomfortable. Stay with us, and continue to express your opinion. You never know whom you may effect, or whom you may help. Just because one person doesn't agree with you, there may be two who will, or you may open the eyes of someone to the true nature of God...love and respect for all.
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tedmacgillivray
Bravo!
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REV. DR. ENRIQUE PEREZ BLANCO
BROTHER DR.PEREZ YOU ARE VERY RIGHT!. let me tell you that I admire and respect your people your customs and your beliefs. We need to be united in this our Church. The best because congregates all faiths. I am a retired Doctor in Law and a Behavioral Sociologist PhD, now volunteering as a mental health counselor to incarcerated young men to allow them to come back healthy to the society. I live in Florida. Feel free to contact me if you wish. dr.perezblanco@gmail.com Your brother, Enrique Perez Blanco.
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REV. DR. ENRIQUE PEREZ BLANCO
BROTHER DR.PEREZ YOU ARE VERY RIGHT!. I ADMIRE AND RESPECT YOUR PEOPLE, CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS. FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME. BLESSINGS.
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Jim D.
Before I dig into the meat of this article, I want to state that anytime I see anything that has Al Sharpton associated with anything, it is instantly tainted. The man has a life-long career as an agitator. He has proven time and again to be a liar and a cheat, and if it were possible, he should have his reverend status stripped from him. He is despicable.
Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk about the article. I'm fine with folks marching in solidarity to profess their agreement with tolerance and equality. You want to march in Washington, DC? That's fine too. But really, why? Do we really need more laws that tell us how we are supposed to treat people that are different than we are? What for? They don't work. For example, you don't hear about blacks being lynched by groups of white men anymore. Now you go to jail for doing stuff like that. But does that mean there aren't white men out there that want to lynch blacks? Sadly, of course it doesn't. You can pass all the laws you want to control behavior, but there isn't a law that can be written that can control what is in the minds and hearts of people. So stop marching on Washington. Not because it's wrong, but because it's ineffective. I don't know if there is anywhere a march for tolerance and equality would be effective. It is entirely possible the only thing that works is time.
Since the article brought up Charlottesville, I'll address it as well. The message from the white supremacists, new-Nazis, and whatever else was slithering around there is deplorable, vile, despicable, vomitous, racist crap the likes of which I haven't seen for a long time. That being said, those putrid s#!t-stains have every right to march and profess their message of intolerance and inequality. Their disgusting message is protected by the 1st Amendment, and we cannot forget that. The minute we try to shut down that kind of speech, we weaken the 1A, and that means weakening it when it is protecting message we like. I was always taught the 1A does not protect what I want to say, but rather, it protects what someone else wants to say that I don’t want to hear. It works better if you think of it that way. Most of us walk around thinking what we say doesn’t need 1A protection because it’s right. Well, guess what. That's what the other guy thinks too.
As far as I'm concerned, the people that went to Charlottesville to protest the racists group fell for their evil plan, hook, line and sinker. You see, those neo-Nazi pinheads filed and received permits allowing them to march. They followed the law. All the others that went to protest were actually the ones that caused all the violence. They were baited, and they took the bait. The racist douche bags won, and a lot of people were injured and killed.
Now, imagine this scenario: The intolerant ass-hats get their permits, they assemble to march, and no one shows up to protest them. They are standing in the street looking at each other wondering where the crowds are, where the TV cameras are, where the opposition groups are. They're not there, because they were smart enough to see right through their scheme, and they left these white supremacist scumbags standing in the street with nothing to do. What's the point of marching if no one pays attention to you? The end result is they go home... defeated. Which scenario sounds better to you?
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Sam Ijuarez
Open the real teams work's are ready for progress in a totally actions and FINANCIAL EDUCATION for SUCCESSFUL LIFE STYLES of knowledge existing day people is YOU happyness... I'm cw1sam-team's. Amen
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Dawn Pisturino
Al Sharpton is the poster child for HATE. He has no credibility and owes back taxes that he hasn't paid.
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REV. DR. ENRIQUE PEREZ BLANCO
Sister Pasturino. Let them with their matters. They are not really happy because they know they are playing unfair. Let's concentrate in our Congretional Church, because we united have more power than them. Love!
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REV. DR. ENRIQUE PEREZ BLANCO
Brother Sam, please explain me this in details. Help me to understand what is cw 1 sam-team's, With love.
A bit of an oxymoron that Rev Sharpton views the nation as failing in morality. He had no problem orchestrating a false charge of white men gang raping Tawana Brawley and trying to make a case on political grounds rather than criminal. I guess there is no loss of morality there. Frankly I am sick and tired of "people of the cloth" professing their wisdom and knowledge on how the rest of us can act in a "moral" way. They are looking for recognition, a sense of authority, and probably an opportunity to expand their congregation. In my view the only way to improve the morality of another is to lead by example. Remember several weeks ago, people of all faiths or lack of faith, and ethnicities, and color, etc.. came together (quite literally) to save the lives of a family caught in a rip current and taken out to sea. A wonderful example of putting to practice high moral character. I hope parents showed their approval in front of their children. No better way to improve moral behavior.
Sharpton make's Jesus cry
Sharpton makes us all cry.
True
Sharpton still owes more than 6 million in back taxes. He is a race biter, and a liar. So as everyone has pointed out, he needs to exit stage left. Nothing he touches will be saved from his stains.