Rev. Al Sharpton, an activist and head of the National Action
Network, was recently in Cincinnati to support the coalition
boycotting the downtown area mostly due to numerous cases of police
brutality and the lack of economic opportunities for many Blacks in
the city. Final Call contributor Vincent Muhammad sat down
with Rev. Sharpton to discuss current local and international
events.
Final Call (FC): Since the tragic events of September 11, do you
ever see an end to racial profiling?
Rev. Al Sharpton (RAS): We were ending it before by continued
and sustained resistance and I think the only way we’ll end it,
particularly in the light of September 11, is that we resurrect that
type of movement. I think that we’ve seen the attempt to justify
racial profiling by (U.S. Attorney General) John Ashcroft, the
Justice Department and others in light of September 11. We must
openly and unequivocally resist that, because any profiling of Arabs
or Muslims is wrong; and this will lead back to the widespread
profiling of Americans which, in many areas, never stopped.
FC: Since the terrorist attacks, do you see changes in the
government that will be detrimental for Blacks and Americans in
general?
RAS: Yes. The new anti-terrorist Patriot Act is an absolute
assault on the civil liberties of all people in this country. To say
that the attorney general at his sole discretion has the right to
eavesdrop through wiretapping on lawyer/client conversations is
absurd and it is a police state mentality. To say they have the
right to detain people without charging them [means] they have just
totally torn up parts of the Constitution. And they’ve done it in
almost utter silence from many in our community and many of our
leaders.
FC: In your recent trip to the Middle East, you had the
opportunity to speak with both the Palestinians and Israeli
leadership. From your talks with them, do you see any solutions to
the mass violence in that region?
RAS: The solutions have to take on a balanced approach. The
United States and others cannot go in without dealing with the
balanced approach. I must say, Secretary Powell has begun talking
more balanced of late but clearly that was not the case before. You
cannot ignore that even people in Israel are saying you have to deal
with the right of Palestinians to a state. When I was in Israel,
Foreign Mi-nister Shimon Peres was one of those who encouraged me to
talk to Arafat, that he considered Arafat someone he could talk to.
Arafat called Peres when I met with him, his partner in peace. They
both won a Nobel Peace Prize together. I think there are those,
particularly in this country, that are inciting a lot more of a
situation that is detrimental than inspiring a level playing field
that could lead to a peaceful resolution to this.
FC: What is your opinion of how President Bush is implementing
the War on Terror?
RAS: I think that he’s soon to have, in my judgement, a
military-only strategy. I don’t think that to go in to kill all is
the answer. I’m still not convinced that he has outlined to the
American public his whole idea of identifying the Axis of Evil—based
on what definition? Then he goes to China, a nation that deals with
North Korea. He has still not, in my judgement, explained to the
American people his plans of going after Iraq and the justification
on some activities there.
FC: You came to Cincinnati to lend your support to the boycott.
Why is this boycott so important?
RAS: Because it’s a matter of self-respect; it’s a matter of
self- definition; it’s a matter of saying that we are not going to
let you just use the courts to sanitize wrong; and we are not going
to continue to do business as usual. If Cincinnati is successful, it
will be an example model to use around the country.
FC: Thank you.
