Rev. Al Sharpton, an anti-Semite who in 1991 incited a pogrom in Brooklyn, struck an upbeat tone during his primetime remarks Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.
"Joy! Joy! Joy! Joy! Coming in the morning," Sharpton shouted at the conclusion of his speech, a reference to Vice President Kamala Harris’s central campaign message. Minutes before, he pledged to "do a job on those that have done a job on us."
Sharpton’s speaking slot at the convention shows how much his image has recovered in the eyes of Democratic elite over the last three decades. But his presence remains striking given the party’s struggle with an outburst of anti-Semitism among a faction of its constituency over the war in Gaza.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Sharpton cultivated an image of an outspoken race baiter and anti-Semite. He gained prominence in 1987 as an advocate for Tawana Brawley, who erroneously accused an alleged white gang of rape. The individuals accused in that case were cleared of all wrongdoing and won a judgment against Brawley for defamation.
Four years later, Sharpton defended an anti-Semitic college professor who blamed "rich Jews" for the slave trade. In the midst of outrage of New York’s Jewish community, Sharpton said, "If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house."
One day later, a Jewish driver accidently ran over a 7-year-old black boy in the Crown Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood. A Jewish rabbinical scholar was shortly stabbed to death.
In response to the violence, Sharpton called for escalations. A pogrom broke out in the Jewish neighborhood. Seven businesses were burned down and nearly 150 people were injured.
"The world will tell us he was killed by accident," Sharpton said at the time, referring to the accidental killing of the boy. "Yes, it was a social accident. … It’s an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights. … Talk about how Oppenheimer in South Africa sends diamonds straight to Tel Aviv and deals with the diamond merchants right here in Crown Heights." Sharpton also said Jews have the "blood of innocent babies" on their hands.
He has since earned an MSNBC contract, where he hosts a weekend show called PoliticsNation. He remains involved and influential in Democratic Party politics and was described by Politico as an "adviser" to former president Barack Obama in 2014.
"We are going to join with whites, and browns, and Asians, and we're gonna do a job on those that have done a job on us," Sharpton said Thursday.