While a guest on Wednesday's edition of Tom Joyner's morning radio show, Al Sharpton -- the host of the PoliticsNation weekday program on the liberal MSNBC cable television channel – used the opportunity to declare that most instances of race-related violence during the past 50 years have been “sparked by police violence.”
The civil rights activist also stated that he had flown overnight to Los Angeles to attend an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Watts riots, which took place in that suburb of the city from August 11 to 17, 1965.
The Watts riots in Los Angeles, Sharpton asserted,“signified a turning point for the country and for the civil rights movement.”
He also noted:
I think what is critical as we marked the 50th anniversary in March of the voting rights march, and then a couple weeks ago, of the signing [of the Voting Rights Act], that we must remember the Watts rebellion happened the very same year.
That shows us even with the promise of the Voting Rights Act, there was violence and rebellion when police stopped a man and roughed him up, and it led to six days of violence here, over 30 lives lost. Much more than we see now.
Actually, the Watts riots began when the police arrested a black motorist on a charge of drunk driving, Before long, the argument between the driver and the officers expanded into a riot.
That conflict led to six days of looting and arson -- especially of white-owned businesses, which sustained more than $40 million in property damage.
Eventually, the police needed the support of nearly 4,000 members of the California Army National Guard to restore peace in the neighborhood.
Sharpton asserted:
If you think of Watts 50 years ago, if you think of South Central with Rodney King, all of the violence we have seen all the way to today in Baltimore and Ferguson has usually been sparked by police violence.
When people feel that those that are sworn to protect them, they can no longer trust, that is when they explode.
“Now of course,” he continued, “it’s driven by unemployment and poverty, but Watts should remind us that this is nothing new -- which is why we need to solve policing [problems] and not keep ignoring it until the next explosion.”
The liberal anchor told the radio host that he “flew all night” so he could attend the event, which he stated is “going to salute some of those that have in the 50 years since the Watts uprising dealt with policing, dealt with issues like Magic Johnson” declaring he has AIDS, and other struggles.
As NewsBusters reported on Valentine's Day, “MSNBC tweeted out Sharpton’s Thursday night segment where he wished his viewers and guests 'Happy Darwin Day' three times and mocked Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for skipping an evolution question in a London interview."
Less than two weeks later, Eriq Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter spotlighted how the National Association of African-American Owned Media filed a lawsuit against Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
The legal action sought "at least $20 billion in damages from the way the two giants allegedly discriminate against black-owned media."
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Comcast "made large cash 'donations'" to Al Sharpton (who works for the Comcast-owned MSNBC) and his National Action Network in order to "divert attention away from discrimination."
Not surprisingly, Sharpton is an easy target for comedians like Larry Wilmore, who claimed the liberal anchor was "sneaking over Obama's shoulder” to take a picture during the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march in Selma.
The host began his remarks by admiring a picture from the Selma march and commented that “this is the A-team of civil rights. Wait a minute. Someone from the B-team is trying to work their way in. Zoom in on that. Zoom in on that. Is that Sharpton?”
Wilmore concluded his mocking by wondering: “Well, you know what they say -- the arc of history always bends towards justice, and Al Sharpton's face always bends towards the camera.”
Then on May 1, the reverend asserted that after the Baltimore riots, the U.S. Department of Justice should take over the role played by police officers.
And just a few days ago, Sharpton expressed his astonishment at a concept put forth by GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul that people who work harder earn more than those who don't.
Given Sharpton's record of saying controversial things, it probably won't be long before he spouts his next outrageous remark.
