Lester also writes at Vision Circle.
Sharpton: Time's Up!
Al Sharpton's campaign represented the last in a dying tradition of black leadership.
By Dr. Lester K. Spence
"It's all about identity." With that phrase Al Sharpton announced that he was running for President. Running to change the identity of the Democratic Party on the one hand, and to increase the self-esteem of black people on the other, Sharpton looked to finish the job that Jesse Jackson couldn't. Sharpton supporters saw his attempt as something that black people sorely needed to inject a sense of urgency for their issues into the Presidential race. Sharpton had a long history of agitating the powers that be on behalf of black men and women. He would speak for those who couldn't speak themselves, for those burned time and time again by Democratic promises.