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MS NOW host Reverend Al Sharpton said the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary is not a “celebration” for Black people and that it’s “crazy” to expect them to celebrate it.
“They’re going to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country July 4th, but that’s not our celebration,” Sharpton said at the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary National Convention on Wednesday.
He continued, “We were slaves then, and they celebrate signing the Declaration of Independence 1776. We were not even emancipated until 1863. So I don’t know what everybody getting ready for a celebration [for]. You know that it seems crazy for me to have on the birthday hat at your birthday party. That ain’t my party.”
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Sharpton suggested that he should hold a separate rally in Philadelphia and expressed concern that young citizens were not aware of Black people’s “background” thanks to President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., attempting to remove woke aspects in education.
“When White kids hear us talking about reparations or affirmative action, they think it’s an attack because they don’t know what their granddaddy did to us,” Sharpton said.
Sharpton has been a critic of removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from businesses and schools, threatening boycotts against businesses that pulled back DEI initiatives since Trump’s second term began.
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He also accused DeSantis of trying to “erase Black history” after his administration demanded revisions to an AP African American studies course in 2023.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who spoke with Sharpton earlier in the convention, also emphasized the importance of remembering the nation’s history with slavery, advocating for the formation of a “Department of Reconciliation” to address it.
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“We need a Secretary of Reconciliation just as we have a Secretary of Education, a Secretary of Labor. We need a Secretary of Reconciliation who would report directly to a president, not this president, directly to a president. And the job would be to reconcile our differences,” Green said.
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He added, “And that reconciliation, for me, I say this with no shame, no embarrassment. I am unapologetically Black, and I say this: that would include reparations. Reparations for the 240 years of free labor that people still benefit today from and that we were locked out of opportunities along the way while they were benefiting.”
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