Rev. Al Sharpton is calling out Black people and rappers who are backing Donald Trump.
In an appearance on MSNBC, Sharpton used Trump’s history with the Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five, as an example of why the former president shouldn’t be supported by the community. In 1989, Trump took out multiple full-page newspaper advertisements against the group demanding that the death penalty be reinstated in New York City after the brutal attack and rape of a female jogger.
Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, and Yusef Salaam, who were young at the time, were arrested, coerced into false confessions, and wrongfully imprisoned until evidence linked the real attacker to the crime. The range of their imprisonment was six to 13 years.
Trump also has never apologized to any of the five men for his actions. Today, all five men are involved in criminal justice activism.
“Black men need to know they were all young Black men. One spent 13 years in jail. He was with us for the March on Washington on Saturday,” Sharpton stated. “Let them come and tell the rappers and other Black men being seduced by Trump what he did in his hometown to innocent to Black men.”
The reverend also recalled Trump supporters attempting to characterize him as a gangster rapper in an attempt to avoid legal accountability. Sharpton pointed out the comments made by conservatives on Tuesday (Aug. 29). They stated that Trump’s mugshot and felony charges make him more appealing to Black people, especially Black men.
Sharpton added that he plans to keep an eye on the upcoming presidential election. “I’m going to keep tracking the ‘Trump is popular with Black men’ narrative in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Though it’s lacking in evidence, I have a feeling Republicans will keep repeating it like a mantra, hoping to make it a reality.”
See a portion of his conversation below.