{"id":9446,"date":"2023-08-31T14:31:33","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T14:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=9446"},"modified":"2023-08-31T14:31:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T14:31:33","slug":"rev-al-sharpton-addresses-the-similarities-of-civil-rights-and-the-bible-at-chapel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/31\/rev-al-sharpton-addresses-the-similarities-of-civil-rights-and-the-bible-at-chapel\/","title":{"rendered":"Rev. Al Sharpton Addresses the Similarities of Civil Rights and the Bible at Chapel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Rev. Al Sharpton giving his sermon at Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel at Howard University (Photo: Alecia Taylor\/HUNewsService.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Alecia Taylor
\n<\/strong><\/em>Howard University News Service<\/strong><\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a sermon intertwining race, politics and religion Sunday morning at Howard University\u2019s chapel, a day after leading the 60th<\/sup> anniversary of the March on Washington.<\/p>\n

Before the activist minister took the stage, many student leaders such as Nia Naylor, president of the Howard University Student Association, Murphy Jones, the vice president, and other student leaders gave remarks about the start of the semester. Hundreds of attendees filled Cramton Auditorium for the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel\u2019s service with over 300 people tuned in through the YouTube livestream.<\/p>\n

Sharpton is known for his often taboo fusion of religion, current events and politics, and his sermon at the chapel was no different. H addressed the activism in the church, the political climate, racism and bigotry, resonating with many attendees. He spoke about his experiences of people and churches requesting that he not talk about politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don’t want to preach the book the way it is, then go do something else,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t act like we got a misinterpretation of the Scripture. Just get up and say you’re scared, and sit down and shut up and let somebody that’s not scared say what needs to be said.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words caused the crowd to clap in agreement. Sharpton insisted that the Bible is political, referring to Exodus as a Civil Rights movement. As he continued, he listed infamous stories from the Bible such as Daniel in the lion\u2019s den. Using the third book Numbers, chapter 13, Sharpton compared the work of Civil Rights leaders to Moses, the prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will [say] \u2018I don’t believe in marching\u2019 and \u2018I don’t believe in all that agitation\u2019 and \u2018I go by my own merit,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWell that’s good, because some of us marched so your merit would be considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the reverend insisted there is still work to be done. He pointed to current political tension that suggests regression such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court\u00a0 decision to strike down Affirmative Action<\/a> and the recent killing of three Black people in Jacksonville, Florida. As people celebrated the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a white man walked into a Dollar General killing three people before killing himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we could even rest and say, \u2018We made a great statement; now we’re gonna see the president and vice president at White House,\u2019 hate jumped back up again to remind us that we’re not there yet,\u201d he told the audience.<\/p>\n

Mackenzie Williams, a senior broadcast journalism major from Chicago, attended the sermon and the 60th anniversary for the March on Washington. Like Sharpton, Williams was taken aback by the news of the shooting in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

\u201cInjustice is very much alive and well,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIt really should make people be more aware of their choices in this next election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams said she isn\u2019t really into politics, but his speech at the anniversary march on Saturday and his sermon on Sunday made her want to pay more attention to the politics happening around her.<\/p>\n

Annable Jules, a senior television and film major from outside of Philadelphia, was also touched by Sharpton\u2019s message, especially about the gunman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just happens way too often,\u201d Jules said. \u201cWe have such glaring progress as a community. All the things that we’re doing and overcoming, even the fact that it was the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington shows how much time has elapsed, but nothing has changed in a grander scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jules, who attends chapel often, had never heard Sharpton speak in person. His speech, she said, really touched her and resonated with her journey here at Howard.<\/p>\n

One of his talking points used Numbers 3:13, where the author Moses refers to the Israelites as grasshoppers and the sons of Anak as giants, signifying that the Israelites felt inferior. Sharpton used the analogy of some people feeling like grasshoppers compared to other people whom they see as giants.<\/p>\n

Sometimes Jules feels like a grasshopper at Howard, but\u00a0 Sharpton\u2019s message reassured her that she, too, is a giant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s so many \u2019giants\u2019 that come out of Howard. Even while you are in undergrad, there’s so much talent here. \u2026 Everyone’s always doing something,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s very easy to feel like a grasshopper compared to the giants around you. It\u2019s really a time to introspect and really understand that you are a giant among giants.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Sharpton closed his speech, he spoke directly to Howard students about their collegiate journey, using the grasshopper-giant analogy. He reassured students that they may find themselves like grasshoppers, but they are giants, like their predecessors who marched 60 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome folk 60 years ago didn’t have a grasshopper complex,\u201d he said. \u201cThey kept on fighting and kept on marching and kept on going till 60 years later, we’ve elected and re-elected a Black president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alecia Taylor is a reporter for HUNewsService.com and covered the 60th<\/sup> anniversary of the March on Washington. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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