Racism is abhorrent. Shady artists who use racism as a way to get money are also abhorrent.
The Rev. Al Sharpton publicly abused McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, on April 27. He used the same language that his National Action Network had been using for over three decades to extract cash from major corporations.
Sharpton warned that NAN was ready to mobilize against McDonald’s. He said that you cannot sell Black people Big Macs while giving us little justice.
The mainstream media hailed Sharpton as a “social-justice leader” but a race hustler would be a better description.
Racial discrimination must be punished according to the law. Sharpton’s not a judge or jury. He is a thug, not a due process.
McDonald’s is it guilty of racism? It’s up to the courts. McDonald’s was sued by black franchisees who claimed they were treated unfairly compared to white franchisees. In June 2021, a federal court dismissed one of these lawsuits due to a lack of evidence. In October 2022, a second lawsuit was dismissed.
Sharpton claims outrage at the “removal of John Rogers a respected business leader in the Black Community” from McDonald’s corporate boards. Rogers has been on the board for 20 years. He is retiring now. He retired at the same time that a director of color who had also served for 20 years did.
Sharpton also accused McDonald’s of failing to give “Black-owned media”, a “fair portion” of its “supersized advertising budgets”. This accusation echoes a suit filed by black entrepreneur Byron Allen. On May 30, the case will be tried by a jury. Sharpton should not decide the case, but let the jury.
Since many years, companies have paid Sharpton’s organization to avoid boycotts or rallies outside of their headquarters – the same “actions” Sharpton threatens to take on McDonald’s in his letter. The $100,000 donation is a small amount compared to what he can do.
Sharpton’s dread is partly due to the Democratic Party putting him on a pedestal. Vice President Kamala Harris, nine senior Biden administration officials and nearly
Biden and his entire cabinet spoke at the NAN annual convention held two weeks ago.
In the three-minute video released by President Joe Biden last week to launch his reelection campaign, not one, but four images of Sharpton are featured.
As if Sharpton was a national hero. Sharpton, in 1987, accused six men, including Steven Pagones of upstate New York, for raping Tawana Brawley and smearing feces on her. He also said that he had wrapped her in garbage bags.
Sharpton was sued for defamation by Pagones after a grand juror ruled that the allegations were a hoax. It would have been horrifying if they had been true. Sharpton has refused to apologize and insists that it was not his responsibility to decide whether the story of the teenager was true.
Sharpton began to intimidate corporations after the Brawley hoax. Al Sharpton and NAN have benefited for many years from the threats of bad publicity that Sharpton made to companies if they refused to work with him. This was reported by Ken Boehm who is the late chairman of National Legal and Policy Center, Virginia.
In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and others celebrated Sharpton’s 60th Birthday in a lavish event. Barack Obama sent a special aide to deliver birthday greetings.
The Democratic Party chose to ignore the truth and made him a symbol. Sharpton failed to pay millions of dollars in back taxes, and he routinely stiffed hotels, travel agencies and landlords. The New York Times reported that year. NAN was “amongst the most delinquent non-profit organizations in the country” and owed payroll taxes for years.
Sharpton brazenly sold his rights to NAN’s biography in 2018 for $531,000 more.
George Floyd’s tragic death in 2020 brought the nation to its feet, but it also brought a flurry of money for race hustlers. NAN raised $11 million in that year. Sharpton’s lifestyle has also been elevated since then. NAN spends nearly $1 million per year on private jets and limousines. This kind of spending on luxury is not allowed for charities.
Shame on Democrats for supporting Sharpton who does not represent all African Americans or justice.
Beware those who demand money while hiding behind moral outrage.
