Dominique Sharpton for Congress!: Part II. WAOD Visits National Action Network HQ

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TYPO ALERT! LONG POST=Tons of TYPOS. Read for comprehension!

Welcome to Part II of WAOD visits National Action Network Headquarters.  If this is your first installment, you can catch up by reading Part I of WAOD Goes to National Action Network HQ. Our word for the day is ILLUSION as in Masters of.

When last we were together, I had been abandoned in the middle of Harlem in front of hot food /liquor store and a grocery and tobacco store.  In between the liquor and tobacco was a storefront with an awning indicating that it was the headquarters of the National Action Network, however there was no rally in sight.

As I approached the doors of NAN Headquarters, rocking a 6 inch magenta afro and shades- so as to be as inconspicuous as possible,  I discovered that there were people inside I entered the door flanked by two burly men, one of which instructed me to turn off the ringer of my cellphone as I entered.  The room was filled with people sitting in maroon chairs. I had been invited to this place by April Davis of Around Harlem.com, but she was nowhere to be found and then I spotted her. WAAAAAY up at the FRONT of the room like a good Baptist.  It was almost as if April was there expecting a show or something.

And so I did the walk of shame up to the front of the crowd

Just to give you an idea of ALL the people I had to walk in front of to get my seat beside April WAY at the front of the room. I swirled out their faces because my cellphone takes really good photos up close and some of these folks may not want others to know they attended a NAN rally.

Despite his absence from the platform, Rev. Sharpton's presence was all around us.... LITERALLY.  Every square inch of the meeting space was covered with magazine covers, news paper clippings, and interpretive art work of Reverend Sharpton, including this oil painting

Snazzy! And my personal favorite and soon to be yours with lovely drawing of Reverend Sharpton in between Martin Luther King and President Barack Obama.

SIDE NOTE: After the gathering when we were meandering around being nosey, I struck up a conversation with a woman in attendance and asked her if these posters of Al, Dr. King, and President Obama could be purchased on the street? She was not sure, but she was certain that I could obtain this delightful work of art at a nearby gallery. END SIDE NOTE

Okay let's move on from the Al-Sharpton-inspired pop art and back to the program. Once I and my magenta afro arrive at the front of the ENTIRE room, I find April, her Blackberry and her snazzy digital camera. Looking the picture of a professional live blogger. April explains that Rev. Sharpton's daughter Dominique is running the "rally" which actually is a Saturday morning church service. So you know that meant I was right at home. Because if there is anywhere that I feel comfortable, its at a church service... on account that I spent my every waking moment at church as a youth. You don't know church folk like the Blogmother knows church folk. Pretty soon everything made sense. We had musicians, we had a pulpit, we had song selections, we had ushers.. all we need is the offering... WAIT, the offering comes later and is worthy of its own post. Here are better photos of Miss Sharpton

Now I am SHOCKED to hear that Miss Sharpton is leading the rally.After all, the only information I had about Miss Sharpton were the news stories about her runin with the law.

Al Sharpton's ex-wife and daughter launched an obscenity-laced tirade and tried to avoid being handcuffed after a Harlem traffic stop, prosecutors charged Monday. "Why the f--- are you locking her up?" Kathy Jordan, 53, yelled at officers as they arrested her daughter. "Get your f------ hands off her." Dominique Sharpton, 23, did not remain silent either when a cop handed her summons for cutting him off by crossing a double line and running a red light Oct. 30. "This is f------ bull----," police say she screamed. "You were driving too slow. I have a play to go to." NY DAILY NEWS

I was expecting someone as uncouth as the police reports indicate, but she appeared to be calm and in control. She didn’t shout any profanity from the podium. She was gracious to all who spoke that day and was down right bubbly. Unless it was all an... ILLUSION!
Turns out Miss Sharpton is the National Membership Director. Now doesn't that sound like a more substantial and necessary position than Director of the Decency Initiative?
The "rally" is being simulcast on a local radio station as well as the National Action Network website. Now if you've seen the NAN website, you know how miraculous all of this is. BTW, y'all might want to update the site because I thought Tamika Mallory got a promotion to Executive Director, but the website still has her listed in the former and completely and totally unnecessary position as the head of the Decency InitiativeMaybe her promotion and the appearance of increased power is....an ILLUSION!
Back to the church service/rally... This might be a shoe string operation, but a quick survey around the front of the room reveals that this is a crew of technically saavy folks. Its not pretty, but they get the job done and give the illusion of a high end operation. Immediately to my right is their broadcast booth. Okay, its more like two tables and a chair . . . ILLUSION! Dominique is also technically savvy. At various points during the rally/ radio show/ webcasts, she actually runs the sound mixer and she brings the rally back from all of the radio show breaks. There was a long list of folks who we heard from, a gentleman who was a gospel poet and author, in case you forgot, after his selection, he held up his two books for sale from the stage for the entire service. We heard from an anti-violence rap group. Their set got cut by a couple of songs on account of time. We heard from 14 year old Tiffany, a budding gospel artist and the daughter of a local pastor. I should remember this because they mentioned that fact several times. Then we heard from a local news personality I can't remember her name. We heard from the President of the NY Chapter of NAN. They have chapters? yes they have chapters apparently because then we heard a chapter report. Rachel Noerdlinger made a report from the stage. Yes, Rachel looks a bit different than her headshot on the National Action Network Website. Illusion folks, its all about the illusion. Rachel was also the person herding the reporters who gathered at the rally. She's good at what she does because there was a gaggle of photojournalists at the rally. I'll explain why in the third part of this series. One thing we heard over and over again was that we needed to reserve our seats on the bus for the RECLAIM THE DREAM RALLY! While all of this was going on reporters continued to stream in. Despite the fact that several news cameras were set up, the "usher" chastened me for taking video with my cellphone camera. Don't feel bad, April got chastened as well for various hijinks. Once I got settled, April started explaining more about the lay of the land and a whose who of Harlem. I'd tell you more, but this is NOT a gossip blog :)

And then the people in front of us all left their seats. Apparently they were the choir. Not just ANY choir however, but.... THE CHANGE CHOIR!!! I said THE CHANGE CHOIR. You better recognize. What was this I hear? Is that gen-u-ine southern sounding gospel music churchifying in the middle of Harlem? Is this New York City folk sanging like this? So of course my inner church person joined in, much to April's shock and surprise.

Apparently April thought I was going to stand up and shout "Get YO HAND OUT MY POCKET!" and storm out of the rally. Nope, I just clapped and sang along with THE CHANGE CHOIR! Y'all not ready. The choir was my favorite part of the service because they were so swift and efficient and they appeared to be having a good time. It was like they were a NASCAR pit crew. When their time came, they took their positions with precision, belted out their tunes on cue, chanted and then sat back down until their next cue.

Mrs. Kathy Jordan Sharpton

I argued with April repeatedly when she pointed out the former Mrs Sharpton in the audience. I couldn't believe that the former Mrs. Kathy Jordan Sharpton would be in attendance after her husband allegedly attempted to defame her after a newspaper made allegations about Rev. Sharpton's alleged infidelity with the former Executive Director of the National Action Network.

In an effort to protect himself from the scandal detailed here, Al Sharpton is apparently willing to use his wife as a shield, even if it means making her a target. He has had his highs in this city—his organization of the Diallo protests in Giuliani time, for example—but now, at this moment of his greatest national prominence, he has sunk to a new low. This story will not examine any allegation about Kathy Sharpton, though sources close to Sharpton, directly and through others, did "inform" us of one. This is the story of Al Sharpton gone wild. In the lawyers' letter, Sharpton reveals that he has not lived with his wife and two daughters in their enormous Brooklyn mansion since April 2003, when the couple agreed to "terminate their marriage." This flies in the face of repeated claims during his year and a half of presidential hoopla—especially one as recently as July 2004, when he rebutted a Daily News item about an alleged other woman by insisting that "Kathy has been my rock and always will be." Village Voice

But sure enough when a woman onstage said that Dominique took after her father, the woman sitting directly in front of me in the yellow baby doll shirt yelled back "AND HER MOTHER TOO!"

Yes, Maam, Kathy Jordan Sharpton was in the house and we were twins that day because we were wearing the same yellow shirt. Except my shirt had sleeves and my jeans weren't shredded... and I was wearing tennis shoes and Mrs. Jordan Sharpton was wearing 4 inch yellow microfiber suede stilletos.  We even had matching hair as I was rocking a 5 inch afro.  Mrs. Sharpton didn't look ANYTHING like this photo. She was hip and young and spry and having a blast at the rally. See you can't believe everything you read in the press.

Turns out she used to be a backup singer for James Brown. That might explain the soulfulness of the CHANGE CHOIR. Now that I think of it, they had the bearing of a backing choir for James Brown. When you see how well Mrs. Jordan Sharpton has aged, you really see how poorly her ex-husband has.  Mrs. Jordan Sharpton also bears a striking resemblance to a certain Z-list actress the good Reverend was recently seen in the company of:

The Good Reverend has a "type."  Mama Sharpton and Lisa Raye could pass for TWINS.

Al Sharpton's Other Women

At this point, I should note that ALL of Al Sharptons Lieutenants that are on program are Black women. He's surrounded by mid-level managers who are women. Dominique is running the rally. The President of the NY Chapter who gives an update is a woman. The NY Membership Chair is a woman. She also runs the new members meeting following the "rally". Rachel, the spokesheeple is a woman. And we haven't even gotten to the part of the story where Rev. Al hands Hazel Dukes the microphone and she goes to "blue" in the middle of a church service. There is nothing unique about a Black preacher running his empire with an army of women, but it does highlight the damning hypocrisy of Rev. Al running to the aid of those to commit violent attacks on women and their children, and the women who defend him for doing so.

After seeing and hearing Dominique Sharpton speak and watching her basically run the technical aspects of this rally, one has to wonder how she got passed up for a position of leadership in favor of Tamika Mallory. In all of my interactions with Ms. Mallory, she has come across as histrionic and her voice is like fingernails on a chalk board, like a cricket that has finagled its way into your utility room, like the sound of 10 alley cats fighting over a half a can of spoiled tuna in a dark alley in other words, Tamika grates. So why has the good Reverend entrusted Mallory with the reigns?

MY BOLD PREDICTION

I'm going to go out there and make a wild and crazy prediction that Dominique Sharpton is going to run for Congress.

Now right now April Davis is reaching for her Blackberry to inform me that I am completely and totally ignorant of the political dynamics of Harlem.   Never mind the FACTS April, I've got a seventh sense about this.

Think about it. Al Sharpton covets EVERYTHING that Jesse Jackson has/had/or will ever have.  Jesse has Rainbow PUSH- AL Sharpton has National Action Network. Jesse ran for President- Al Runs for President.   Even their wives favor(ed) each other.  They could be twins.    Jesse has a paramour on the payroll.... Al has ... never mind.  Jesse has a child that runs for Congress... SO Al Has to 

Ironically, her arrest might actually bolster her chances of election. At this point I invite April to tell me why everything I have said is wrong. I'm not saying she SHOULD run. I'm just saying that she WILL because there isn't enough room at NAN for both Dominique AND Tamika Mallory.

In the alternative, even if AL Sharpton doesn't want Dominique to run for office, Mrs. Kathy Jordan Sharpton is extremely proud of her daughter and the Sharpton women could lay claim  to their own sphere of influence by doing something Al Sharpton can never do... win elected office to ANYTHING! I'm just saying. She's CLEARLY being groomed for something other than the Membership Chair of the National Action Network. 

I could be wrong of course, but I saw the dynamics in that room, Dominique Sharpton is NOT going to be playing second fiddle to Tamika Mallory for long.

By the way, at this point in the service/rally, I begin to wonder where the heck is Rev. Al in all of this? I'm sitting here spending a perfectly good Saturday morning listening to a 3 hour infomercial for tickets to travel to the Reclaim the Dream rally , Gospel Poetry, teen anti-violent rap, and a report from the Spartanburg chapter of NAN. Will he show up before April and I get gang tackled by the usher mid-service, and where did to former Mrs. Sharpton snag those snazzy stilletto yellow microfiber suede shoes? The answers to these questions and more in Part III of WAOD Visits NAN HQ.

P.S. I couldn't sign up for the Reclaim the Dream bus ride because they said they were no longer accepting deposits, full fair was due IMMEDIATELY!

Comments

[revmamaafrika]

Blog Mother, thanks for the inside scoop! This is interesting, to say the least.

And that pix of Dr. King, Rev. Al and Pres. Obama? SCARY! :(

[Betty Chambers]

Welcome back!

And those swirl photos remind me of that strange semi-horror flick Jacob's Ladder. Nice touch!

[Fred]

@Gina

The funniest part of the post was you comparing how much Sharpton's actions and political career are an attempt to reflect or even outshine Jesse Jackson.

[Constructive Feedback]

WAOD:

Question - What will your response be when the inevitable question is asked of you:

"While you have your sights set on 'running down Al Sharpton'.............WHAT ARE YOU DOING for the Black community? His work is fully documented for 'haters' like you to cherry pick apart."

Here is MY answer when asked:

I don't accept "itemized lists" of evidence of what you have done.
The real question is: HAS IT WORKED TO FIX THE PROBLEMS IN OUR COMMUNITY?

We need to focus upon comprehensiveness of solutions and not bullet points. Too often those with bullet point lists will use this against their enemies but NEVER do the go to the "Least Of These People" who they are helping and ask THEM 'What are you doing to help your community?'.

The fact that these individuals have such a large influence upon our community and yet have failed to impress upon the "Voice-less", failing to give them "Voice Lessons" so they can speak on their own. Instead they work to give them "choir lessons" so they can all sing on the same page.

The best way to check Sharpton and others is to start from our Black Community's Permanent Interests and force them to show how their strategy has advanced it - rather than advancing their ideology and political party

* Safe Streets
* Quality Education
* Thriving Local Economy
* Healthy Lifestyles and Relationship Outcomes

[blkchik]

Does Dominique live in NY or NJ? She actually got hit by a car at that gas station down the street, its good she is doing well now.

Al is controversial figure but at least he has women in leadership positions in his organization instead of just being the audience and paying dues. He also let the black gays speak at Reclaim the Dream and I don't see other black activist giving them a voice, they are black too. So I don't think all hope is lost concerning Rev Al.

I have no respect for Jesse and Farrakahn who sit and say and do nothing while kids are killing each other in Chicago, even NAN had an anti violence rally and things aren't 1/2 as bad in Harlem as South Side of Chicago.

I wonder when a new black womens organization will get going?

[revmamaafrika]

@ blkchick, yes, all of our CRIC organizations have women members, even women in "leadership" positions, but what do they do to advance the civil/human rights of women? And whatever that is, do the majority of women in the communities where they live or have an office even know of what they do to help women?

For the women in leadership in the CRIC organizations, how many of them know what the VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) is and what it has done, can do to help their communities? When was the last time the women leadership in the CRIC had a Town Hall meeting on violence against women? And with October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month and that month now a few weeks away, will they do an event on violence against women? Yes, Sis. Donna Payne of the Human Rights Campaign spoke (HRC's new executive director is a straight sister) at the "Reclaim the Dream" rally, but do the participating organizations also have Town Hall meetings to explain hate crimes/legislation and the civil rights movement to their membership? How many people in that crowd know Sis. Coretta Scott King supported gay rights, including gay marriage? In other words, where is the follow up? Or will the important, necessary follow up and political education not take place cause so many of them are "good church folks" who don't want to hear all that? I'm just asking . . . . . :)