Research Catalog

Title

King Al : how Sharpton took the throne / Ron Howell.

Author

Howell, Ron

Publication

• New York : Empire State Editions, an imprint of Fordham University Press, 2021.
• ©2021

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

vi, 165 pages; 24 cm

Summary

"Through the 1980s, the mainstream press portrayed Reverend Al Sharpton as a buffoon, a fake minister, a hustler, an opportunist, a demagogue, a race traitor, and an anti-Semite. Today, Sharpton occupies a throne that would have shocked the white newspaper reporters who covered him forty years ago. A mesmerizing story of astounding transformation and survival, King Al follows Reverend Sharpton's life trajectory, from his early life as a boy preacher to his present moment as the most popular Black American activist/minister/cable news host. In the 1980s, Rev. Al created controversies that would have doomed a lesser man to the dustbin of history. Among those controversies were his work with the FBI, as the agency attempted to locate Black Liberation Army leader Assata Shakur; and his involvement in the 1987 Tawana Brawley episode. Regarding the Brawley matter, a white prosecutor sued Sharpton, successfully, for falsely accusing him of having raped the then-15-year-old Brawley. It was the white press, in its glory days, that created the podium from which Sharpton became both famous and infamous. Those reporters would joke that the most dangerous place in New York was between Al Sharpton and a television camera. But it was those reporters who made Sharpton the media figure he is today. Today, as host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation news program, Sharpton has more news viewers than those reporters ever had as readers. Reverend Al's rise to respectability is a testament to an endurance and boldness steeped in Black American history. Born in Brooklyn, to parents from the old slave-holding South, he transformed himself into one the most respected and politically influential Blacks in the United States. In his in-depth coverage, author Ron Howell tells the stories of Sharpton's ascendance to the throne. He tells us about the glory years of American newspapers, when Sharpton began his rise. And he tells us about the politicians who intersected with Sharpton as he climbed the ladder. King Al is an engaging read about the late twentieth century history of New York City politics and race relations, as well as about the remarkable staying power of the colorful, politically skillful, and enigmatic Sharpton"--

Alternative Title

How Sharpton took the throne

Subject

• Sharpton, Al
• African American civil rights workers > Biography
• African American clergy > New York (State) > New York > Biography
• African American politicians > New York (State) > New York > Biography
• African American television journalists > Biography
• Clergy > New York (State) > New York > Biography
• Politicians > New York (State) > New York > Biography
• African American civil rights workers
• African American clergy
• African American politicians
• African American television journalists
• Clergy
• Politicians
• New York (N.Y.) > Biography
• New York (State) > New York

Genre/Form

Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Revernd Al and me -- Les Payne sounds the "death knell" on the Tawana Brawley story -- Early 80s : Sharpton enters the realm where white newspapers ruled -- Black women and the embedded racism of the realm -- Rev. Al, Wayne Barrett, and old black Brooklyn -- Enter James Brown and Don King -- Roots of a preacher's strength -- "I know Jews from Italians" -- The 90s : climbing the ladder in politics -- A new day, a new journalism, a king emerges -- Confessions of a hack (i.e., old-time tabloid reporter).

Call Number

Sc E 22-150

ISBN

• 9780823298877
• 0823298876

LCCN

2021027085

OCLC

1236259195

Author

Howell, Ron, author.

Title

King Al : how Sharpton took the throne / Ron Howell.

Publisher

New York : Empire State Editions, an imprint of Fordham University Press, 2021.

Copyright Date

©2021

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Note

Schomburg copy with dust jacket.

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc E 22-150