"This is no time for bowing and scraping. This is no time for buck dancing and genuflecting. Our people are dying in Iraq, are being drowned in New Orleans, and you're going to sit around scared? "

Sharp Dresser with a Sharp Tongue!

Reverend Al Sharpton is an African-American preacher and activist from New York City. He became well-known in the 1980s and '90s for his protests against injustice and brutality by the police. Further recognition came in 2004 when he campaigned unsuccessfully for the Democratic party presidential nomination.

Sharpton grew up in a middle class family in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a boxer and a landlord. Until the age of ten, he lived in Queens. He gave his first church sermon at the age of four; by the age of nine he was an ordained minister. Is parents separated in when he was very young because his father wanted to marry his mother's daughter from a previous marriage. At that time, his mother could not earn enough in her job as a maid as got on welfare. The family moved to the projects in Brownsville, New York.

He began organizing protest groups in high school against things like poor cafeteria food and the dress code. Out of college, Sharpton became a tour manager for James Brown and founded the National Youth Movement to fight drugs and raise money for impoverished youth.

Sharpton has ran several political campaigns including the New York United States Senate seat in 1988, 1992 and 1994. He also ran for Mayor of New York City, unsuccessfully. He announced his candidacy for the 2004 presidential election as a member of the Democratic Party on January 5, 2003.

Sharpton has earned a bit of celebrity status and has appeared in a variety of minor films and television shows. Appearances include the movies Cold Feet and Mr. Deeds. Television appearances include Saturday Night Live, Law and Order, and Boston Legal.