Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist minister, political and civil rights/social justice activist, and radio talk show host.^[1][2] In 2004, Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election.

Sharpton hosts his own radio talk show, Keepin’ It Real^[3] and makes regular guest appearances on Fox News (including The O'Reilly Factor^[4][5][6]) CNN, and MSNBC.

Sharpton's supporters praise "his ability and willingness to defy the power structure that is seen as the cause of their suffering"^[7] and consider him "a man who is willing to tell it like it is".^[7] Donna Wilson, host of a talk radio program on WWRL in New York City, said of him that "Al Sharpton was born to lead".^[7] Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, a one-time foe, said that Sharpton deserves the respect he enjoys among African-Americans: "He is willing to go to jail for them, and he is there when they need him."^[8]

Sharpton's critics describe him as "a political radical who is to blame, in part, for the deterioration of race relations".^[9] Conservative writer and activist David Horowitz has called Sharpton an "anti-Semitic racist",^[10] sociologist Orlando Patterson has referred to him as a racial arsonist,^[10] and liberal newspaper columnist Derrick Z. Jackson has called him the black equivalent of Richard Nixon and Pat Robertson^[10].

Sharpton sees much of the criticism as a sign of his effectiveness. "In many ways, what they consider criticism is complimenting my job," said Sharpton. "An activist’s job is to make public civil rights issues until there can be a climate for change. So when people get angry at me for raising these issues and making them public, well, that’s my job! That’s what I’m supposed to do. If I could not get the public’s attention on an issue, then I’m not a good activist."^[11]