Al Sharpton and the Bell family hold "justice" rally

People get shot in Memphis every day Al, why don't you say something about that? Oh yeah, it's because blacks are the ones doing the shooting.

It's not up to Al Sharpton what stories the media picks up on. The man is trying to keep up discussion and dialogue in the best ways he can. When a case like this, with police blatantly killing unarmed civilians, is acquitted, we all need to stop for a second and try to figure out how such a tragedy could occur...

I'm not defending Al personally; it's obvious the man loves the attention and is a total camera whore. What he does is often done for a very good reason and he's going to choose those moments when his message can be heard.

Your comment, John, sounds a bit ignorant...

The rally at Sharpton's office was followed by a 20-block march down Malcolm X Boulevard and then across 125th Street, Harlem's main business thoroughfare, where some bystanders yelled out "Kill the police!"

Fifty of the marchers carried white placards bearing big black numbers for each of the police bullets fired at Bell and his friends.

Sharpton urged people to return for a meeting this coming week "to plan the day that we will close this city down" with the kind of "massive civil disobedience" once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"They never accused Sean Bell of doing anything. Then why is he dead?" Sharpton asked, his voice roaring with anger. Authorities "have shown now that they will not hold police accountable. Well, guess what? If you won't, we will!"

"Shut it down! Shut it down!" the crowd chanted, standing up and applauding wildly.

Sharpton didn't say exactly how they would protest the acquittals of the officers who fired the 50 shots. He said Bell's supporters could demonstrate all over the city, from Wall Street to the home of Justice Arthur Cooperman, who on Friday acquitted the three detectives after a nonjury trial.

Anybody in the city planning on going to this? Got a camera? Someone should really get out and shoot some vid for us here on Current...

al sharpton is a media grubbing sycophant. he's just using their tragedy to get himself more attention.

Al threatened to close down the town of West Memphis, AR over a kid with a black kid with a toy gun getting shot by a Police officer, while Memphis, TN is on a pace to have the highest murder rate in it's history and it's number one in the country in violent crime. I agree a mistake was made, but with that much violence around, shit is going to happen. Al came in and preached at the child's funeral, and then the funeral home had to sue because they got stuck with the bill. He's a whore for the camera, and if it's a white man shot down he's nowhere to be found. I used to like Al, but I can't abide hypocracy.

people seem to get it mistaken what al sharpton is tryin to do or the dont know there facts and r just plain ignorant. The sean bell case isnt about a black white thing its about what is right and what is clear cut wrong. There is no way you can justify killing an unarmed man that did nothing wrong. Many people think that this is merely a race thing but 2 of the officers in this case were african american.This case is about right and wrong and not lettin officers of the law get away with a clear cut case of murder.This case was about makin the police see that we the people will not stand for innocent men being gunned down because they look or act suspect. People need to stop thinkin about this as just a " black persons" problem and start thinking of it as a law enforcement problem, because if sean bell had of been a rich white man and was gunned down their would be a call for those officer lives.

It is Al Sharpton that is the one makling it a "black persons" problem. Unarmed men doing nothing wrong are gunned down everyday in Memphis, where is Al Sharpton to speak for them? Wait I know, the Memphis media is so jaded from violence there aren't enough cameras around. When people are shot down in their homes on a daily basis, I find it hard to take fault with an officer being overly precaucious.

i can't help myself - i freaking love Al . Al never fails to make anything he chooses to involve himself in a hypnotically fascinating event - his perfectly groomed hair , his impeccable fashion sense ( there has never been a baptist minister , ever , who could possibly rival Al's sartorial elegance ) , and his sheer force of character - i just love the man , god how i love him , i really do . all you serious Al haters will miss him when he's gone , trust me .

I liked Al, I did. Better than Jesse and better than Obama. When he ran in 2004 he was the bomb. Since, he's only taken up causes that involve a camera and a black victim. Sorry Al, that's a little short sighted for my tastes.

in the world of Al , "right " and "wrong" are mere theatrical props - he is a phenomenon which manages to transcend the circumstances which summoned him , at any point in time , and absolutely eclipses the fleeting significance of any event which he places himself in front of - Al is a singularity , nearly as inscrutable as a black hole , he bends space and time to suit himself , and everyone notices it when he does - no-one can avoid Al's wicked charm . i sometimes stay awake at night imagining Al dressed up like an exotic belly dancer , spinning the kind of spell Kali does in her ring of fire , and i feel a kind of illicit and titillating lust which i imagine Cleopatra managed to arouse back in the day , and i dream of a heaven in which only Al and i exist , and i have him all to myself - the world be damned .

Well that's a bit much.....

Quote JohnA:

"People get shot in Memphis every day Al, why don't you say something about that? Oh yeah, it's because blacks are the ones doing the shooting."

End Quote

BRAVO John, nice to see someone actually ask the real questions around here for a change!!!

I like how Al can get crowds together to protest because this is definitely something that needs attention, It is true that Al only defends the African American community but why shouldn't he, He is a great representative for all blacks, more power to him.

And no white men ever get killed in vain. Who gets crowds together to protest for them? You can't, you would be a racist then.

lol..is stormfront.org in full force here or what???

I think everyone needs stop straying away from the issue at hand with these hypothetical "but..but..what about the white man!!" The fact of the matter is that an unarmed man was shot at 50 times and NOONE received even probation..a fine...community service..not a damn thing. This isn't a black vs. white issue, this is a blue vs. the people issue.
anyway..i will be at every single rally...50 shots is a massacre and I'm glad that SOMEONE even Al won't let this die out..

JohnA, You are not a racist because your standing up for someone that was killed by another culture unless you make it racist, by throwing racial slurs and calling for killings of that culture. You have the power to get crowds together for white men killed if you really wanted too.

Not in Memphis Tennesse I don't. Only Al has that power and it only goes one way.

I'd love a few more answers. Some news reports have said that Bell's vehicle ran into an officer and then rammed a police vehicle. Why did that happen? Was the vehicle already under fire? Why were the police suspicious of Bell in the first place? Why were undercover police at the strip joint? I don't think we're getting the whole story here, and I can't tell who it is that's holding back or why.

John i will help you write a speech for a rally against violence between cultures that no one could call racist, or question the motivation, you really could make a difference you just have to really apply yourself and make yourself heard with rational thoughts, we all can make a difference somehow it just matters how far your willing to go to make a difference, and how much your willing to sacrifice.

What would I need to do? Ben Ferguson, went to University of Memphis, does CNN and Fox on the weekends, has a local radio show in Memphis morning drive time. He rails on the crime here daily, it's ridiculous. I can get him behind it.

Well for starters call into his show and express your opinions and stir up conversation, Bring attention to the problem and see if anyone joins in, if it gets big enough try to set up a demonstration, recruit people to your cause, the more media attention you get the more your voice gets heard.

You don't understand, he talks about it three hours a day five days a week. And he is one of the highest rated radio shows in Memphis. But he is very conservative so he is "talk radio", even though he's all of 25. Crime is through the roof here. I do contact him. It seems no one is listening. I'm not just typing, there will be two hundred murders in Memphis this year, highest ever, beat last years record, which beat the year before's record, which beat...oh....

It's unfortunate to say the least. Very sad thing.

I'll preface that I haven't read the article or many of the posts here, time is the issue, here's my thought: although, the policemen may not have acted criminally and therefore deserve punishment for criminal actions, it is nonetheless a tragedy. The Family and even the fiance should be compensated for their loss - not as though you could put a price on his life, but as a token and acknowledgment of the unfortunate circumstance.

"The Family and even the fiance should be compensated for their loss". You going to pay for that brother? You going to pay for every man that goes down in vain? Or am I supposed to.

Of course he's not going to pay for it, he's a liberal. He snipes with demands for other people to throw their money at someone else's problem, disappears when collection time hits though. Typical...

i will help compensate, its not about being liberal, its about being a compasionate human being, who feels terrible reading stories like this, and wants to help in any way possible. so shut the hell up about who is gonna pay and who is liberal, and think about the person that has died for nothing and then post your comments.

without knowing the whole story i'll hold off judgement on the case at hand but the thing that infuriates me is how this man, al sharpton, gets in on any sort of media spotlight he can. this guy is a piece of trash stringing out his 15 minutes of fame as long as he can. it doesn't matter what it is as long as he can get a spotlight for a few minutes. and with him it is a black and white thing, not a right and wrong. look into this history of issues and its always the same. he's one of the reasons there are such tensions as there are today

I could be wrong, but nowhere have a read or heard AL Sharpton turn this into a race issue. Can anyone provide that informtion?

I have no real opinion on Mr. Sharpton, but I do feel that this issue NEEDS attention and if he is the one to bring it to public light, then good.

Injustice is injustice whether you are black, white, yellow purple or green.

Vixen, sharpton HAS commented on this case, so OBVIOUSLY it's a race issue. Race pimps ONLY comment when they want to fan the flames of racism yet again.

I am very enraged at that fact that people are more concerned with Al Sharpton's role/motives in this tragic event more than the boorish reality that a young mans life was brutally taken for no reason.

people do ur research it might happen where u are this year, last year, for the last 20 years but this has been going on in new york for the pass 300 years.

i just saw something on the news here in chicago about a cop in north carolina getting fired for kicking a police dog, but nothing about sean bell...i guess animals in n.c. deserve more rights than black men in nyc

its sad that there are so many ignorant responses to this story.

Wow! The same day the Sean Bell story aired on my local news station in VA, they also showed a piece on a man who was sent to jail and fined 5,000 Dollars for animal cruelty towards baby racoons that were stuck in the back of a Tar vat. Instead of stopping to make sure all the animals were out of harms way, he kept the dangerous machinery running. His excuse was loss of time and money. Out of the litter of racoons only one survived. It's sad when you hear of stories like these where an animals life is worth more than a humans. And Ironically "Coon" was a racial slur used often in our recent history to describe people of African descent. It's a sad testimony thatwe as Americans have to face. Even after all the positive strides towards racial equality that this country has made, tragic events like these show us that we still have a long way to go. In my opinion, the greusome reality remains that the fight for equality isn't over, Contrary to the popular belief that all is well in this country.

I thought this was a land of laws and order. Courts are the arbiter of the law. Does it only work when the law decides the way you want it to? Al Sharpton has done more to increase racial tensions and divisiveness in this country. From everything I heard, from eyewitnesses in the court, the prosecution put on a pitiful case. What did they expect?

This is about Sean Bell and every other man, especially Black men, who DIE everyday.

This is about police officers who are groomed to operate above the law.

This is about premeditated murder on innocent people by cops who are suppossed to protect us and hide behind the badge.

This is about one more dying unnecessarily.

This is about you, me and our future.