How Al Sharpton Went From Agitator to Parody

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  • Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
  • Sponsored by Curiosity Stream: curiositystream.com/melinapend...
    How did we get from being called a "race agitator" to Rollo Goodlove?
    Note: I felt like I could have gone harder on discussing the anti-Semitic issue so I reached out to my friend and fellow creator ‪@Ladyknightthebrave‬ and they gave me some feedback so I wanted to just add this: The incident at Crown Heights was, by all accounts, an accident, and the rumors that the ambulances didn't stop to help the Black children are unfounded. Sharpton did not help the issue and while he has "apologized" it doesn't erase how he played a part in inflaming the scapegoating the Jewish community at large at that time. Explaining and discussing the issues that created his comments, do not excuse them and we can, and should, discuss these things without anti-Blackness and anti-Semitic language.
    Table of Contents:
    0:00 Intro
    2:30 Who is Al Sharpton
    4:19 Bernhard Goetz
    11:08 The Murder of Yusef Hawkins
    19:20 The Shooting of Amadou Diallo
    22:32 The Crown Heights Riots
    26:52 Tawana Brawley rape "hoax"
    34:25 The Criticism Against Al Sharpton
    53:02 Why does this matter?
    Follow me:
    Twitch: / pmweekes
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/princessweekes
    Twitter: @WeekesPrincess
    Instagram: princess_weekes
    TikTok: PrincessPendulum
    Links & Sources:
    "Black Religious Intellectuals: The Fight For Equality from Jim Crow to the 21st Century" by Clarence Taylor
    "Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century" by
    Cheryl Greenberg
    - www.pewresearch.org/interacti...
    - www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...
    - nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/...
    - www.al.com/life/2020/11/race-...
    - www.nytimes.com/1991/11/30/us...
    - www.npr.org/2013/01/19/169734...
    - www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/op... (note: author Glenn C. Loury is a Black Conservative
    - www.thedailybeast.com/al-shar... (1991 crown heights riot)
    web.archive.org/web/201906171...
    - timesmachine.nytimes.com/time...
    web.archive.org/web/201907040...
    - www.latimes.com/archives/la-x... (decade of hate)
    - jewishinsider.com/2019/05/al-...
    - www.nytimes.com/1988/10/09/we...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 314

  • @Princess_Weekes
    @Princess_Weekes  Рік тому +528

    Note: I felt like I could have gone harder on discussing the anti-Semitic issue so I reached out to my friend and fellow creator @Ladyknightthebrave and they gave me some feedback so I wanted to just add this: The incident at Crown Heights was, by all accounts, an accident, and the rumors that the ambulances didn't stop to help the Black children are unfounded. Sharpton did not help the issue and while he has "apologized" it doesn't erase how he played a part in inflaming the scapegoating the Jewish community at large at that time. Explaining and discussing the issues that created his comments, do not excuse them and we can, and should, discuss these things without anti-Blackness and anti-Semitic language.

    • @JebeckyGranjola
      @JebeckyGranjola Рік тому +13

      I think you weighed it with clear sensitivity. That is appreciated. In my opinion it was best not to say more, and perhaps it's better suited to another discussion that has a broader scope than a biography- within, as you said, "an education of history", if possible.

    • @harrietamidala1691
      @harrietamidala1691 Рік тому +31

      Maybe that is a subject you could address in a video on its own- Anti-Semitism within the black community, Controversial but important to talk about. Maybe pair up with a Jewish UA-camr like ladyknighttgebrave to Discuss the other side of the coin, racism within the Jewish community.

    • @Kniero
      @Kniero Рік тому

      @@harrietamidala1691 that's a very good idea.

    • @kanna317
      @kanna317 Рік тому +16

      I definitely think you and ladyknightthebrave or another Jewish creator should make a video discussing black anti-Semitism and racism in Judaism, as they aren't discussed a lot, especially the former topic. This is just my opinion as a Jew, but I feel like black anti-Semitism has been getting louder over time, especially after what happened with Nick Cannon; it even shows up among the "woke" folk.
      One thing to note about the Hasidic communities in New York like the Lubovitch and Satmar is that they're both extremely conservative (unlike more mainstream Jews who tend to skew to the left) and live in very isolated communities where everyone is a Hasidic Jew and their lives are very controlled. Because of this isolation, they are legitimately scared of and distrust anyone who's not a Jew. They also hate Jews who aren't Hasidic or Orthodox as they feel like our less religious practices are "killing the religion", so it's not just non-Jews they have an issue with.
      In regards to racism in Judaism, yes there are unfortunately some Jews who are racist (usually older and/or wealthier Jews), but most Jews aren't. However, I would also argue that a lot of the negativity in the Jewish community is not racism per se, it's general xenophobia against non-Jews, which is especially prevalent in the older generations. This is an extremely nuanced topic, but it does mainly stem from thousands of years of persecution by the non-Jews in power. A lot of the Jews who are into this xenophobia tend to split the world into Jew and non-Jew as two peoples who are unable to have a connection with each other. There are also unfortunately some Jews who aren't the biggest fans of non-ethnic Jews, which I would attribute at least in part to Jewish people's extremely complicated feelings about conversion (a conversation in of of itself), as in the US, a large portion of POC Jews tend to be converts.
      One thing I do want to bring up is to be careful about Jews and the "not white" idea, as while I know you didn't mean it this way, the idea as Jews as not white is a very common trope in anti-Semitic rhetoric; people have been using the idea of Jews as a "lesser race" or "alien race" for centuries as a reason to persecute us. Whiteness and Jews post-WWII in the US has been a complex issue as it's taken decades for us to be considered "white enough" for white society, though many white people still don't consider us white and well, we aren't welcome in the country club to put it bluntly. Jewish assimilation has been a controversial topic in the Jewish community for a long time as well.
      Anyways, I know this was very long and I don't know if anyone will read it, but I did want to say that this is a great video. My impression of Al Sharpton was mainly informed by popular culture's views of him, so I learned a lot.

    • @experiment35
      @experiment35 Рік тому

      This was helpful because while watching the video the one thing I kept sticking on was the ambulance thing, and whether that was the case or not - it seemed possible to me that there was something to that, I know statistically black people receive worse medical care than other groups. Obviously not an excuse for antisemitism but it's good to have that addressed!

  • @matthewskelly3499
    @matthewskelly3499 Рік тому +308

    "This is not a racist community, we just don't like black people." -an italian-american man who is *definitely* not racist

    • @extrashotofespresso_
      @extrashotofespresso_ Рік тому +4

      I went to college with an Italian dude. I had a huge crush on him for a few semesters until I heard him say the N word one day. Loud and proud.🥴

    • @ltraf9701
      @ltraf9701 3 місяці тому

      @@extrashotofespresso_ In Italy negro is not an insult

  • @LPTheGas
    @LPTheGas Рік тому +354

    "This isn't a racist community, we just don't like black people!"
    And the Bruh Moment of the Year Award goes to...

    • @ambriaashley3383
      @ambriaashley3383 Рік тому +40

      That reasoning is why so many people - online and irl - can say they're "not racist" with a straight face and really believe it somehow. I feel almost sorry for their ignorance, but I mostly feel sorry for the Black people who are forced to interact with them.

    • @sarahwatts7152
      @sarahwatts7152 Рік тому +17

      @@ambriaashley3383 very much agree. I live in the whitest state in the nation (Maine, ~93% as of the last census), and there is some real racist shit lingering just below water level

    • @miabecerra2611
      @miabecerra2611 Рік тому +6

      The Italian-American Slogan

    • @extrashotofespresso_
      @extrashotofespresso_ Рік тому +5

      @@ambriaashley3383I literally dated someone who swore up and down that he wasn’t racist but he said a lot of questionable things about black ppl. I thought he would stop he never did and tried to excuse it all because in his mind i behave “different “ and he “likes” me so I was excluded from his rhetoric. That dude was toxic af and only had a black girl fetish but that’s a topic for another day.

    • @MaryamMaqdisi
      @MaryamMaqdisi 11 місяців тому +1

      @@extrashotofespresso_damn that’s nasty

  • @KINGOFANCARCHY17
    @KINGOFANCARCHY17 Рік тому +297

    I am in total shock that of that interview with the shooter. His ass was out there just saying Nazi shit and he's like "Do you think you are racist?"
    Media always gets an F

    • @peacheslikeapples
      @peacheslikeapples Рік тому +63

      I was looking for this comment! He called those kids "undesirable elements"??? They are human people? And then saying their moms shouldn't have had them implying there should be less black people... WTF

    • @twilightorchid12
      @twilightorchid12 Рік тому +47

      Bro came right out and proudly admitted to being a eugenicist 😬

    • @twilightorchid12
      @twilightorchid12 Рік тому +22

      With all those comments about “undesirable elements”

    • @deaf-tomcat
      @deaf-tomcat Рік тому

      you just KNOW that reporter was shitting himself over getting television gold.

    • @alci5994
      @alci5994 Рік тому +30

      Honestly though I think that was a fair question to ask? Racists will often say the most racist shit imaginable but still vehemently say they’re not racists, so asking them point blank can put into sharp focus their hypocrisy. And esp in this case, the court case said it wasn’t racially motivated when here he is, completely proving it was. Confronting him with that direct question can help show exactly how wrong that court decision was.

  • @JessieGender1
    @JessieGender1 Рік тому +313

    Thanks for this. Sadly this is probably the most comprehensive discussion I’ve seen on Sharpton I’ve seen on this platform, so I appreciate it.

    • @tomswiftyphilo2504
      @tomswiftyphilo2504 Рік тому +7

      same. I grew up believing the hype about him.

    • @ChristopherSadlowski
      @ChristopherSadlowski Рік тому +14

      Girl, this is the ONLY critical analysis of Sharpton I've seen on this platform! LOL! I'm glad it's Princess serving up the learning though, since I know it'll be thoughtful and well designed. It won't be a teardown or anything like that. Well, unless a teardown is deserved, but living so close to the city and seeing Al on local TV here so much I'm interested to hear a thorough explanation of why the media treats him the way they do.

    • @majorlazor5058
      @majorlazor5058 Рік тому +6

      Halfway through this video I totally forgot Sharpton was a guest speaker at a college conference I attended many years ago. He actually made a good speech. One could interpret it as pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but I felt more like he was telling a bunch of black kids you are going to have to work a lot harder than your white counterparts to get even close to what they have. 20 some odd years on I have to say he wasn’t wrong.

  • @knofear8859
    @knofear8859 Рік тому +180

    Jewish viewer here, just wanted to add a note about Menachem Schneerson for extra context: he was the leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a still existing fringe Hasidic Jewish community which is EXTREMELY controversial among most Jews in the world, both during his life and since. While Schneerson's political and religious stances were by and large not especially unique compared to many of his contemporaries, he fostered a major personality cult around himself and likely sought to portray himself as the literal Jewish Messiah as a means of encouraging greater support for his personal religious and political agenda.
    This was definitely a factor in how the Crown Heights riots played out; the Lubavitch movement (and just much of the hard Orthodox Jewish community in general, unfortunately) is quite politically right-wing. This is largely an inherent aspect of the movement, as they were and are very Zionist of course, but also practice very strict exclusivity politics. Schneerson continually pushed for Israel to be made an exclusively Jewish state with Jewish religious laws, and sought to prioritize Jewish demands over any kind of pluralistic solution to the reality of the region. Because of the disgusting alliance between right-wing Evangelical Christians and Orthodox Zionist Jews, it shouldn't surprise anyone outside of these communities that the latter tends to adopt the beliefs and attitudes of the former when it comes to racism against Black people.

    • @howlandcrowe9807
      @howlandcrowe9807 Рік тому +1

      I think we can agree racism exists in the Jewish community while at the same time acknowledging that doesn't have anything to do with what happened in Crown Heights. Yeah, Orthodox Jews tend to be heavily Zionist, but so are the vast majority of Jews from any background. Racism against Black people had nothing to do with the Crown Heights riots, where media portrayed it as a "both sides were at fault" when that simply wasn't true. Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an article for The Atlantic about how he reported to his bosses at the New York Times that mobs of Black people were attacking unarmed Jews unprovoked. Those same bosses wrote into articles that both groups "clashed" when that simply wasn't happening. There wasn't a single account of a Jewish person or persons attacking Black people. It was the reverse. There were Black mobs shouting "Heil Hitler" and "Death to the Jews." People held signs saying "Hitler should have finished the job." They attacked Jewish homes, identifying them by the mezuzah on their doors. What happened in Crown Heights could arguably be considered a pogrom.

    • @jonathanstern99
      @jonathanstern99 Рік тому +15

      Calling Chabad a fringe Hassidic group is highly misleading. It makes them sound like a fringe among the hassids which is not true. If anything they are one of the more religiously moderate hassidic groups (which isn't saying all that much but still). It's also one of the LARGEST Hassidic group so if they are the fringe who is the center. It's like calling the Southern Baptists a fringe Evangelical group.

    • @mv9653
      @mv9653 Рік тому +12

      Thank you. I feel like the primary discourse ignores the degree to which Jewish communities are so much more diverse than this and the idea that New York’s white modern Orthtodox and Chabad communities represent our whole community is so harmful.

    • @eypu999
      @eypu999 Рік тому +1

      Exclusively Jewish states in west Asia? 😵‍💫 oh no

    • @MaryamMaqdisi
      @MaryamMaqdisi 11 місяців тому +1

      I agree with everything you said except on Chabad being fringe. Maybe in broader society, but not in Jewry. What’s more, they can even be found countries with very few Jews, probably for kiruv reasons.

  • @Asummersdaydreamer14
    @Asummersdaydreamer14 Рік тому +127

    Thinking of all those New Yorkers casually saying slurs in front of the media still being racist grandparents today.
    I believe people should seek atonement, and learn to be better. However, I also hope someone’s grandkid or someone with a passion for local history snitches on all them to their social circles.

    • @firstnamelastname7708
      @firstnamelastname7708 Рік тому +13

      That’s exactly what I was thinking, they’re all proudly showing their faces on TV while saying awful things. I wonder if they could be tracked down and made to watch this footage of themselves, how many (if any) have changed and how many would double down on their racism?

  • @00080001
    @00080001 Рік тому +55

    I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I knew practically nothing about Al Sharpton before watching your video except the media parodies and criticism from conservative news pundits. Thank you for educating me and everyone else.

  • @pendragon_cave1405
    @pendragon_cave1405 Рік тому +45

    Your conclusion that there aren't many leaders in the Black community to show the way to grow/change as a person and also effect change in wider society really hit home for me.
    On a separate note:
    I've recently butted heads with someone who is anti- LGBTQ and my liberal friends told me I was making it worse by not trying to find common ground with this person. My response is that everytime we've (liberals/progressives) done what they (conservatives) have asked they don't meet us in the middle, they just keeping asking us to bend more until we finally are flat on the ground and they can walk right over us. I'm 40 and have never been a 'fight back/make it loud/messy' kind of person but this is where I'm going now as I reflect on history and how change is so slow and fragile and easily torn away from us. We have to fight for what we believe in. We have to be loud and messy. Or we just won't exist.

    • @TCt83067695
      @TCt83067695 Рік тому +1

      I think I agree with you mostly but I just want to add that not bending over and finding middle ground shouldn't be mutually exclusive.
      Pls note I say this as someone who definitely needs to practice what he preaches but I worry if you burn all bridges with that anti LGBTQ person, they prolly would not have any person in their life to check them when they say some foolishness.
      So we need to create an environment where we foster engagement and if that person values your relationship then they will eventually bend and become more accepting.
      I hope...🤞🏾

    • @soFRESHsoDarryl
      @soFRESHsoDarryl Рік тому +1

      💯

  • @Jasonblade9012
    @Jasonblade9012 Рік тому +73

    At the beginning of the video, but already, love the insights on Law And Order SVU. The “Al Sharpton” type appears all over the Law & Order franchise. I remember vaguely an episode where an Al Sharpton type and it finishes in like urban riot as backlash and someone (white) ended up being killed. And the Al Sharpton character step up to defend the killer and justify his act by “racial anger”.
    When I researched it, it was based on a case where they was riot but it was white (Italian American) riot and the person killed was Black. I was shocked how they reversed the situation to make it even more racist.
    I really hope someone like you on this platform do a breakdown of Law And Order franchise.

    • @MaryamMaqdisi
      @MaryamMaqdisi 11 місяців тому

      That is insane but unsurprising

  • @RICtalks
    @RICtalks Рік тому +116

    I know you probably wont read this, but I just wanted to say thank you for teaching me something. specifically about the word "racist+white people" and why they get so upset.
    I talked about this on a vid once, but there was this one time where I called some racist neighbors ... racists and they lost it. and even had to apologize (its a long story)
    either way, the scenes of people saying "we're not racist we just dont like black people" are mind blowing!
    Sometimes being 30 feels like a mistake because now im too aware. Seeing stuff that was going on with adults in the 90s (while I was chilling and having my fun dip) is crazyyyyyy.
    LOVE YOUR CHANNEL. I wanna be like you when I grow up. bye

    • @ambriaashley3383
      @ambriaashley3383 Рік тому +15

      Ugh I'm sorry you had to apologize. It was true! People are so sensitive and don't like to hear about themselves. Racist is a dirty word to be called, but they can still hold racist views & somehow thats alright???
      The neighbors had a Karen freakout bc their cognitive dissonance set in. Finally hearing the truth & hearing that they couldn't get their way/live their status quo for ONCE made them have a temper tantrum. 😕

  • @thakatspajamaz
    @thakatspajamaz Рік тому +116

    this is truly eye-opening. Especially the live footage from the 80s, that white people felt so emboldened to speak like that on TV. Honestly, it makes me feel that SOME progress has been made given the state of the BLM protests in 2020 - how there was an overwhelming support by white people and at WORST, the racists couldn't openly say "we just don't like black people" like they felt emboldened to do in this 80s footage.

  • @HaShomeret
    @HaShomeret Рік тому +24

    As someone who was in a Orthodox Jewish Elementary school in the 90s, thanks so much for this video. This brought me so much context for so much that happened at that time and after.

    • @HaShomeret
      @HaShomeret Рік тому +4

      Most of anti-Semitic criticism I heard against him was coming from people who I knew to be racist and right-wing so I didn't ever really look into it when I got older so it's interesting to hear some of the things that he said that clearly are antisemitism.

  • @thatmessy132
    @thatmessy132 Рік тому +34

    Super informative for someone who is coming at this from outside of the US. A big thing in South Africa (where I'm from) is the canonisation of the leaders who died in their radical era (Biko, Hani, etc) by black people, and of those that lived to concede (Mandela, Tutu, etc) by white people; there isn't a softening or cleansing of the images of those who are dead, but a powerful push to rebrand those who lived to see freedom as having completed the job despite pervasive racial inequality.

  • @evelynstarshine8561
    @evelynstarshine8561 Рік тому +36

    Boston Legal is the show I feel had the biggest impact on how people see him, given he literally played a parody of himself as social justice warrior for hire and at the time, that show was big, globally, in a way boondocks never got to be.

    • @Princess_Weekes
      @Princess_Weekes  Рік тому +16

      I totally forgot about that show! I was slightly too young when it came out.

    • @darby2314
      @darby2314 Рік тому +1

      Yes! Perhaps the most damning indictment of all, being friends with Denny Crane.
      His slip up in the second appearance still cracks me up. Very much a parody of himself. But at least everyone's laughing together?

  • @moustik31
    @moustik31 Рік тому +92

    D*mn all these racist crimes are heartbreaking and the responses to legitimate call for justice from Black activists was even worse.
    💔

    • @whitzala
      @whitzala Рік тому +10

      Like they really hit me hard I almost forgot about Al Sharpton I was processing the grief😭 Some of these things happened when I was a kid I know of them but not the details😭

  • @selalewis9189
    @selalewis9189 Рік тому +56

    This is well done. Your conclusion is very good. It's true that we don't really have much of a guide in the African American community for how to be an effective activist. From us being killed, jailed, exiled, and retreating to academia, there aren't a lot of us around. That is, if, you primarily look at the well-known or "famous" of us.
    There are countless everyday people like you and me who participated in collective struggle for justice. And history has a way of reducing social progress to just the individual leaders, and not the masses of us. Rather than looking to the individuals that the media and memorials like to elevate, seek out the other old heads who helped build chapters of, say, SNCC or the Black Panther Party. People who ran free clinics, political education events, or direct militant actions. Heck, I'm sure you could get more out of listening to your own peers who are in a local BLM chapter.
    Personally, I find listening and learning from these people is more useful. They understand they are one of many and don't need to be in front to make a difference. They understand their place in history as part of a larger legacy of collective struggle. Many who have survived learned to balance their commitment to the struggle with going to work, falling in love, or starting a family. They are often the most committed and more willing to build an institution than chase instant notoriety. They are also generally less apologetic when it comes to their anger. They know when it makes sense to heighten one's anger at a protest vs. when to get more calm when you're, say, talking to a family member.
    And because history loves to depict the failures of the Left through leaders who lost their way, we need to start ignoring those people. They don't represent the masses of us. Look for the people who don't want their names on buildings.

  • @evilcaptainred
    @evilcaptainred Рік тому +45

    I love that you are discussing sharpton- I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone in our gen talk about him at all! Honestly, I remember my mom talking about him and Jesse Jackson and just being like, they are important to our history but are also clowns- she didn’t elaborate much…

  • @withalittlehelpfrom3
    @withalittlehelpfrom3 Рік тому +134

    This video deserves all the awards. What a great and holistic examination of the man and the society that shaped him-the perfect embodiment of “thing exists” over “thing bad.”

  • @Haverlock
    @Haverlock Рік тому +60

    Unrelated but Columbo is the only 'cop' show that isn't copaganda. Theme wise it is literally "Fuck the idle sociopathy of the rich. The law still applies to you."

    • @GeneralOlde
      @GeneralOlde Рік тому +3

      Also, Patlabor.

    • @Nightman221k
      @Nightman221k Рік тому +11

      It helps that we know who did it and we know Colombo knows and will get them so watching Colombo catch them is fun in a karmic way.

    • @perrisavallon5170
      @perrisavallon5170 Рік тому +21

      I'd say The Wire is also a cop show that's not copaganda. It's a very "things are systemically fucked and here's why" kind of show.

  • @ambriaashley3383
    @ambriaashley3383 Рік тому +11

    A white kid in my high school ( in ny AP Government class, which was pretty much all white) tried to get me to admit that Al Sharpton wasn't necessary to Black people "anymore". We had just watched a special on civil rights & I believe Sharpton was mentioned. I told the kid no. Sharpton brings awareness & often education & hope. And despite what this kid's parents had told him, is still very necessary.

  • @matthewroberts6833
    @matthewroberts6833 Рік тому +22

    After the passing of the Civil Rights Act, the point where the state were willing to listen to and compromise with the activisits, the American state gave black activists two options: submit to the evolving rules of capitalism or suffer the consequences. Folks like Fred Hampton, Huey Newton, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and many others took one option. Folks like Al Sharpton and many others took the other.

  • @austincde
    @austincde Рік тому +24

    I'm glad you gave him his props, I didn't know any of this, I don't appreciate how the media treated everything like it's post racial.thanks for this.

  • @No1ChuckFan
    @No1ChuckFan Рік тому +20

    This is so well researched and thoughtful. Your honor she’s slaying

  • @rosenberg2497
    @rosenberg2497 Рік тому +60

    I really enjoyed and respected your brief aside on your relationship within Judaism as an almost convert and as some who has absorbed some form of Jewish cultural osmosis. You came across as having a lot of respect for Judaism while also pointing out that the Jewish community has a lot hard work todo with Anti-Black racism in the community. Thank you.

  • @EclecticPotpourri
    @EclecticPotpourri Рік тому +7

    Glad you are being specific about your background as an immigrant. Often the racism in the USA can be a shock to Black people in the diaspora.

  • @luna4life98
    @luna4life98 Рік тому +19

    This was a really fascinating breakdown as someone who did not know a lot of details about al Sharpton, thanks for all your hard work as always

  • @caitlina5776
    @caitlina5776 Рік тому +31

    Jokes hold a lot of power and it’s easy to forget that. They convince people not to listen before you’ve even started speaking. Great video as always, thank you!

  • @Boahemaa
    @Boahemaa Рік тому +11

    I have come to admire Al Sharpton from watching his involvement in highlighting racial prejudice in America in Netflix documentaries. He pointed out systemic racism before most people including black people were willing to admit it was an issue. I think you made a fair assessment of him in the video.

  • @DorianGay
    @DorianGay Рік тому +6

    I do this thing every few years where I research Sharpton's early years and start to really like him, and then get to the antisemitism and remember why I had a negative impression of him as a Jewish New Yorker growing up at that time. I'm glad he's apologized, but it frustrates me that he never really took responsibility. Thank you for providing this nuanced perspective on Sharpton and a period of history that I only dimly remember.

  • @sylvester452
    @sylvester452 Рік тому +5

    I'm an almost-thirty-year-old White dude from Canada & I've literally never heard the name Al Sharpton before. I'm embarrassed that I apparently haven't done enough research into the Civil Rights Movement to know about any of this. Thank you for educating me.
    For the record, I know that it's not the responsibility of Black Americans to educate the rest of us about civil rights. Princess Weekes is out here doing some heavy-lifting & I appreciate it, but I acknowledge that I need to take it upon myself to do the research.
    Also, our education system needs to talk about these things. In my school, there was a one-sentence mention of Martin Luther King Jr. & that was about all we learned about racism & the Civil Rights Movement in America. But I also come from a very small, White, racist town, so maybe that was on purpose.

    • @sasentaiko
      @sasentaiko Рік тому +2

      In case it helps your Wikipedia deep-dive, he's post-Civil Rights Movement. :) And also, he's still very very active in the movement for black lives! For one thing, he's recently been asked to give the eulogy at funerals for victims of police violence and lynchings, and he gives speeches standing with the families and communities. His eulogy for George Floyd is only the most famous example. So in the US, his name is in the news every few months, because police killings of Black folks sure haven't decreased since 2020. In addition, he's a frequent commentator on TV news analysis programs, and he has his own politics show on a mainstream channel, NBC.

  • @brrandy
    @brrandy Рік тому +4

    "Black leadership has no guide book for success." A stunning way to summarize it.

  • @brittaunfiltered4878
    @brittaunfiltered4878 Рік тому +15

    I'm sorry, this is extremely off topic from your well-done video but I love your eye makeup (I'm a sucker for emerald green). I also love the Magical Girl background (very few people give Princess Tutu any public attention).

  • @Megalo64
    @Megalo64 Рік тому +13

    I never thought twice about tho these social justice pastors were based on, and now I have a thorough understanding of the trope. It's history and al Sharpton as a person. Thank you

  • @letranger4461
    @letranger4461 Рік тому +12

    This fascinating as someone who grew up in the late 2000s and 2010s. My parents are South Asian and my only exposure to Sharpton is the parodies on tv and the odd news story.

  • @AlyssaMakesArt
    @AlyssaMakesArt Рік тому +7

    I know next to nothing-especially the NYC stuff. I didn't realize that these parodies were all supposed to be him. I thought it was a general stereotype that was making fun of Civil Rights leaders more broadly, not one person.

  • @emilyjones9675
    @emilyjones9675 Рік тому +7

    The compassion and nuance you brought to this video is so evident. Wonderful, wonderful work as always. ❤️

  • @natyboops
    @natyboops Рік тому +6

    Given the odds of being a Black activist and not being vilified, I will still stand up for my people.
    Plus, Law and Order is one of the most racist TV shows ever.

  • @supinearcanum
    @supinearcanum Рік тому

    Great video, also love that outro beat. Always love to hear some chiptunes on the close ^-^.

  • @TaylorAlexander
    @TaylorAlexander Рік тому

    Oh shit I really wanna hear what you have to say about Dark Angel! I watched it recently and damn, that writing uh. Gonna go see if you already posted but if that’s coming in the future I’m looking forward to it!

  • @zoebirss9944
    @zoebirss9944 Рік тому +1

    My kids and I have been watching you on PBS. I'm so glad I found this channel. This is my first video and I'm subscribed. Found you through FD

  • @heavenlylatte
    @heavenlylatte Рік тому +11

    Incredible video as always! The only thing I knew about Sharpton growing up was something controversial he said in 2007. I still have no idea what exactly that was or why it was offensive (to my parents, I mean).

  • @katrinnsy
    @katrinnsy Рік тому +2

    Found this very informative! Commenting to boost but genuinely always appreciate your perspective and the topics you choose to cover

  • @littlelizzyann
    @littlelizzyann Рік тому +6

    So I saw this and thought 'An hour on Al Sharpton? Ugh.' More fool me. It flew by. This is such a well-constructed vid, but more than that it gave me a much better understanding of Sharpton and events that were part of my childhood and young adulthood. Thank you so much!

  • @twilightorchid12
    @twilightorchid12 Рік тому +4

    As a white Jewish person I really appreciate this discussion! Thank you for all the research you’re sharing on this topic (and every topic you discuss) 🥰

  • @morganwentworth2041
    @morganwentworth2041 Рік тому +10

    Great video. You did a superb job of bringing in one man's history in with a lot of different elements of society and culture.

  • @macks6397
    @macks6397 Рік тому +3

    I'm devestated (though unsurprised) this video is being buried! I find all of your content so interesting and thought-provoking and educational. And as a beginner/wannabe activist of sorts, this kind of history and analysis is so, so vital.
    Also, Dark Angel!! Yay! Your taste is impeccable, as always.

  • @jinmushui1soul
    @jinmushui1soul Рік тому +3

    This is interesting but doesn't change my feeling about the Rev much, again because I grew up with moderate (therefore conservative) politician Sharpton. I think what has always bothered me is his both self-assumed and externally-projected authority to speak for all black people, which I suppose he's always had a bad habit for. Ultimately this is the problem with leaders vs movements...leaders can be jailed, killed, or seduced by elites. Progressive movements are also vulnerable if they don't kept an uncompromising core of pro-working class, anti-capitalist politics. I think the problem is so many black political movements have either been centralized around easily identifiable leaders, or did not resist the appeal or impede to rise of clout and bag chasers. Some of that is certainly our conditioning under representative "democracy" to look to authority figures for direction rather than build power and competence collectively, right now, wherever we are.

  • @nikkipooh9
    @nikkipooh9 Рік тому

    Daaaaaaaaaaamn! This was an eye opener! I love your sources and how well read you are. 💜

  • @PogieJoe
    @PogieJoe Рік тому +8

    Another fantastic, nuanced discussion from Princess Weekes.

  • @LucasDimoveo
    @LucasDimoveo Рік тому +2

    I had no idea you were from NYC! I was born in East New York, but spent most of my time out in Queens. That doesn't really matter but it's nice to see another New Yorker out here

  • @spenx09
    @spenx09 Рік тому +3

    Compares human beings to animals, sees no racism in himself 🤦‍♀️

  • @Humble0Sage
    @Humble0Sage 7 місяців тому

    Literally just found ur content about a few days ago. Hooked. Ur stuff is what I live for.

  • @mickiemallorie
    @mickiemallorie Рік тому +2

    This is really a question of what is the most effective way to fight power. From the ground up...or from a position of power?
    There are arguments for either. One is less safe, possibly less effective...the other is safer, effectiveness is still up in the air.

  • @mutinda_K
    @mutinda_K Рік тому

    Excellent breakdown/analysis. Also that's banging track at the end...yaaaaz!

  • @rainbowchewynuggets
    @rainbowchewynuggets Рік тому +10

    Thank you extremely very much for (1) providing yet another thorough and thoughtful educational session on an issue and historical figure I knew nothing about but have definitely been exposed to the cultural image of; (2) helping me understand where the squeaky-noise-when-he-walks level cartoon character reverend came from in The Get Down. Love you, Princess.

  • @Silvermoon424
    @Silvermoon424 Рік тому +9

    Off-topic, but I love your background! Shout out to my fellow magical girl fan.

  • @beesinatrenchcoat-mu8xv
    @beesinatrenchcoat-mu8xv Рік тому

    doing my part in commenting!
    also as the video started and you described how is often represented, is like a click on my head I went "oh yeah!... I've seen that character a lot!" never wondered where it came from tho

  • @chelseashurmantine8153
    @chelseashurmantine8153 Рік тому +2

    I agree with everything you said. I think that it’s because we’re readers and we want to know what the history is. He was THERE. He was there all along and how are people trying to make a joke of someone who survived this world as someone who cares AS VISIBLY as he does

  • @WmJared
    @WmJared Рік тому +5

    I feel like Ben Crump catches similar criticisms about being a race instigator when he's just responding to racist incidents even as he's doing active work; it may be more a Nebula thing or a crossover with Intelexual Media but I wonder how he would compare.
    Also I believe Tawana Bradley; she became a nurse after all that? That's mad impressive.

  • @SpiffyPenguin
    @SpiffyPenguin 9 місяців тому

    This was such a good watch, I’m so glad I watched this one. Especially the end. I’m a Jamaican-American living in New England in a very Jewish community. This was everything

  • @isaacleguin2171
    @isaacleguin2171 Рік тому +2

    Another banger from Princess Weekes. Gdit, I might have to subscribe to Nebula just to get that Anime Court . . .

  • @johnni3585
    @johnni3585 Рік тому +2

    Commenting for algorithm because this was so well done and you deserve all the coin!!!!

  • @Deemo202
    @Deemo202 Рік тому +1

    Amazing video. I have one critique: My right leg kept involuntary doing The Woo Dance when the music would start playing.

  • @muddlewait8844
    @muddlewait8844 Рік тому +1

    This needs to be seen. One of my favorite vids of yours.

  • @unclegumbald989
    @unclegumbald989 Рік тому +2

    18:13 that is the EXACT scene I was thinking of. That was eerie lol

  • @hollyxdear
    @hollyxdear Рік тому +4

    They only things I knew of him before this were the episodes of boondocks and that he stayed at the Hyatt my sister worked front desk at and he threw a huge fit over like Hyatt points and the floor his suite was on.

  • @asherxslasher
    @asherxslasher Рік тому +1

    This was a great video. I have never known much about Al Sharpton beyond the character show in fiction so it was very interesting to learn about his history. But also.....Dark Angel video? pleaaaaase

  • @intofinnair
    @intofinnair Рік тому +1

    excellent video. appreciate the effort, research and nuance that you put in your work! 💐

  • @mjcrom
    @mjcrom Рік тому +3

    Absolutely wild that YT doesn’t distinguish between videos challenging antiblackness and videos perpetrating it.

  • @taylorclukey2314
    @taylorclukey2314 Рік тому +2

    You are such a good speaker. I could listen to you read the back of a shampoo bottle. Loved the content. I learned a lot.

  • @samacha9055
    @samacha9055 Рік тому +5

    This is such an amazing video. I really appreciate your work.

  • @VS-kf5qw
    @VS-kf5qw Рік тому +8

    Thank you for all the work you put into this video. It comes through in your voice just how heavy and emotionally taxing the research and presentation was. I think how you used Sharpton as a lens to look at history shed light on something really important: how his flaws and his image were used to discredit real crimes and real victims from the very beginning. Speaking to the white media and popular mindset, an outspoken public figure with his own problematic views is just irresistible for people looking for a reason to discredit racial justice movements.

  • @NextChapterRapper
    @NextChapterRapper Рік тому +1

    Unc brought me. Great video. Great channel. Subscribed. ❤️ ☑️

  • @Liriodelagua
    @Liriodelagua Рік тому

    Name of the song that starts around 41:25? Thnx

  • @indigoace261
    @indigoace261 Рік тому

    Great in-depth discussion & insightful commentary, as always. Thanks for sharing.

  • @AlwaysAmTired
    @AlwaysAmTired Рік тому +2

    Amazing video. I love learning about these topics we have a cultural reference for but very little factual knowledge of.

  • @BellamyJay
    @BellamyJay Рік тому +3

    You can be genuine and mistaken at the same time.
    Your motivations don't *have* to be nefarious even if those actions have certain outcomes.

  • @godnoble
    @godnoble Рік тому +2

    Thank you for making this. Though Sharpton has been in the national spotlight almost as long as I can remember, there were things that I missed about his career due to my age and race, and I just generally only had the media's portrayal to go off. I had come to understand that he was doing his best to speak on behalf of black people to white people, and was lambasted from both sides because of it. I didn't know he was an FBI snitch nor about the antisemitic tension he supported, amongst many things.
    My only other note is that your mic volume seemed pretty low.

  • @loglorn
    @loglorn Рік тому +1

    Im not american i hadnt heard of Sharpton before, but i *had* watched that exact SVU episode and i knew there was More to it. Great video, very in depth analysis.

  • @hallehuckleberry
    @hallehuckleberry Рік тому +2

    sent by F.D :) i’m excited to get into this one

  • @LostCommenter7
    @LostCommenter7 Рік тому +3

    Great and informative video!

  • @lauraclark767
    @lauraclark767 Рік тому +3

    I didn't think I'd be interested in this topic, I just clicked on the video because of our extremely tight parasocial relationship but as always, you've managed to create the most engaging content I've consumed since your last video

  • @BadassCharlene
    @BadassCharlene Рік тому +1

    Off topic but I love love love your Trunks figure (statue?)

  • @civivva4501
    @civivva4501 Рік тому +7

    If you are watching House of the Dragon I hope you do a series review.

  • @InfinityCSM
    @InfinityCSM Рік тому +3

    Great work! Thanks for your insight! Keep making great content!

  • @pagodrink
    @pagodrink Рік тому +1

    Okay, finally got around to watching this. Great video as always!

  • @hollyxdear
    @hollyxdear Рік тому +4

    Excellent video and thank you for all you do

  • @mbrambles24
    @mbrambles24 Рік тому +1

    Time is a circle 😵‍💫. We're still having the same conversations over racism. Probably because these people are still alive and had kids

  • @andrewdicola1343
    @andrewdicola1343 Рік тому

    Super well researched and informative

  • @antoniospappas2575
    @antoniospappas2575 Рік тому

    You have mistyped the sponsor link. It points to a domain squatter and not to actual Curiosity Stream.

  • @montereypoe
    @montereypoe Рік тому +1

    I loved this video. I also had only really heard of the meme of Al Sharpton, it's good to hear the backstory

  • @heffawtf150
    @heffawtf150 Рік тому

    This is a good review of sharpton. Atlanta FX last season did a protest episode that expounded on this archetype but used deray as a base instead..

  • @gemstone71552
    @gemstone71552 Рік тому +1

    This is one of those topics I was like vaguely aware of but didn't realize how much I didn't know. Thank you for this

  • @sammosaurusrex
    @sammosaurusrex Рік тому +2

    “I think [their mothers getting abortions] would have been a better solution, just like one practices population control with animals”
    Jesus Tapdancing Christ, that gives me shivers, I can’t believe he got away with it, and I’m terrified that the country is backsliding into this type of thinking (despite crime being nowhere near where it was in the 80’s)

  • @GaaraRules0
    @GaaraRules0 22 дні тому

    "This is not our history. This is our very close present." A bar!

  • @TheLuckyBubu
    @TheLuckyBubu Рік тому +6

    Very informative! I am Turkish and have never lived in the US, but I had heard of Al Sharpton as someone who values respectability a lot (From that time he got upset at a black comedian for jokingly calling Obama his n-word). It was surprising to see his youthful 'radicalism'. I really liked his speech about how they have a valid concern even if they might not be expressing it the way (white) people would like to hear it. Commenting for the algorithm. :)

  • @elizabethdunham5947
    @elizabethdunham5947 Рік тому

    your outro music slaps

  • @lumirueluv
    @lumirueluv Рік тому +2

    Thank you for this thoughtful deep-dive.

  • @SunkistBK
    @SunkistBK Рік тому

    I come from a mixed/Jewish family from Dyker Heights/Bensonhurst, and spent all of my teenage/young adult years in Bushwick and the Bronx when gentrification was dominantly centered in the north side of Bedford Ave.
    I can't tell you how many times I heard about Al Sharpton and any of these cases. Always had to ask family members why they'd almost instinctfully bring up any of this history when I'd be venturing into "dangerous" neighborhoods. I'd always refute them, saying I felt more danger in Bensonhurst than in Bushwick.

    • @SunkistBK
      @SunkistBK Рік тому

      Btw we're about the same age, for context