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Sharpton On Hate: We're Fighting Confederates

Civil Rights Leader Calls For Federal Clamp Down On Hate

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The Reverend Al Sharpton spoke at the Harlem headquarters of his National Action Network to denounce a recent series of hate crimes in the Tri-State Area.

"Enough is enough. From swastikas to hanging nooses to benches to broke jaws, we've got to stop hate in this town," he said.
 
Sharpton was joined by 20-year-old Skylar McCormick, whose jaw was broken in what police called a racially-charged beating, and Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright. 

With McCormick at his side, Sharpton recounted the victim's ordeal. "This young man was with some white friends. They were racing down the block - lean up against a car. All of a sudden the car comes chasing them. Four or five whites jump out of the car, grab him, beat him with a bat in the hand - break his jaw in two places."
 
"They don't beat the whites with him. They used the n-word over and over again. But that ain't a hate crime. Well if using the n-word and only beating a black out of three people ain't a hate crime, then what is a hate crime?" Sharpton asked his audience. "If that ain't enough evidence, then what is enough evidence? Do you have to write the n-word and get a notary republic to sign it?"

"Well if it wasn't hate, then why didn't you beat everyone that was out there? If it wasn't hate, why did you call him a racial name and not the others. He was the only one beat," Sharpton directed at the accused suspects in the McCormick attack.

"We must come together and we must fight this rise of unchecked hate that has come up in the Metropolitan area from Columbia University to Long Island to Staten Island," he said. "And we need to make the criminal justice system that wants to try victims, explain why they have not indicted, prosecuted or charged one hate crime. Not one, in this slew of crimes."

Sharpton called on the federal government to help stop hate crimes, likening the recent series of hate crimes with the Civil War, and the Union's battles to eliminate slavery in the South over the opposition of slave-holding states which appealed to state's rights.
 
"And we got to put pressure on the federal government to intervene. What was the Civil War about? It was about states saying 'We'll handle race on our own'. And that's what they're doing now: 'Don't interfere with us. We'll do it in Louisiana. Don't interefere with us. We'll do it in Staten Island'," Sharpton said.

"We are not fighting Conservates. We're fighting Confederates," he added.

Sharpton said he refuses to back down from his fight against hate crimes. "They want to check out the National Action Network. I've been under investigation ever since I've been in public life. I'm not afraid of you coming after us. I'm afraid of us backing up, and not coming after you all. We have got nothing to apologize for," he said. "You're breaking our jaws, you're hanging nooses... how dare you act like the victim."

The Reverend threatened marches in several sites of recent hate crimes. "We're going to Jena, Staten Island, and Washington and we're going to bring our numbers like you've never seen before."

Assemblyman Keith Wright introduced himself as a represent of Duke Ferguson, the coach of the Harlem football team "Hellfighters." 

The team went to Staten Island for a game, and found hateful speech written on their bench. Assemblyman Wright said, "...in five years this team has done nothing but help save lives, under the control and dominion of adults - presumably the folks that are caretakers of the school that they were playing, in Staten Island. On their bench, they find the words scrawled in big 'You the n-word suck, go back to Harlem'."

"Racism is growing unchecked," Sharpton said, warning against turning a blind eye to recent incidents. "The excuse that it's copycats - don't excuse the fact that there has been no, at all, established penalty or established enforecemnt of law to stop anybody who wants to be a coycat."

"If there are copycats, then it is encouraged by a criminal justice system that is inept and inactive," he said.

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