Sharpton's Coming Again

The Reverend Al Sharpton is scheduled to speak in Charlotte tomorrow (Friday, June 13). He's holding a press conference at 11:30 a.m. outside the government center and his National Action Network is presenting a town hall meeting at New Life Fellowship Center (1337 Samuel St.) at 6:30 p.m. Sharpton is making these appearances at the request of the family of Aaron Winchester, the 21-year-old who was shot and killed last month by a Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officer. Conflicting accounts from the police and witnesses as to what happened during the shooting has sparked the calls for investigations and is why Sharpton is coming.

Whether you like Sharpton or not, one thing's for sure is that when he takes on an issue it is certain to garner a huge increase in attention. This is no Sean Bell case but to Winchester's family it is just as important. And I think, at least I hope, what people want most from this incident is the truth. And hopefully they're able to go about it as unbiasedly as possible.

This is Sharpton's third public trip to Charlotte this year. He came in January to speak on behalf of the Nick Mackey sheriff election debacle (he should've stayed home for that one). And he was here last month as a panelist during a town hall forum during the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.

I first saw Sharpton speak in person during an event in Augusta, Ga. for James Brown a few years ago (Sharpton got a lot of his style from Brown including the permed hair). We all know he's a dynamic speaker—no one puts together analogies and metaphors like he does—and hopefully what he has to say will help lead to a resolution for such a tragic event.