Issues of Focus
The National Action Network is widely credited with drawing national attention to such critical issues as racial profiling, police brutality, and the US Naval bombing exercises on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Notably, the organization was prominently involved with the police brutality cases of Amadou Diallo (New York), Abner Louima (New York) and Patrick Dorismond (New York).
| “ | I tell young people all the time - and most of the National Action Network leadership in our chapters are younger than me — you have to make a choice at some point in your life: are you going to do something about what angers you, or do you want to just be angry? Because I learned a long time ago that those in power don’t care that you’re angry, they care if you use that anger to do something about it. | ” |
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—Al Sharpton, |
In 1999, the organization launched The Madison Avenue Initiative or "MAI", a program designed to address the inequities in the advertising industry. MAI was created after a racially charged memorandum, infamously dubbed, "The Katz Memo", was circulated among certain radio stations, stating that advertisers wanted "prospects, not suspects". The recognition of this memorandum set off an investigation into the spending practices of corporations, specifically examining whether their advertising budgets with African-American and Latino publications and advertising agencies was commensurate with their consumer bases.
In 2000, the organization launched the Truth Hamer Voter Registration and Education Initiative. The Truth Hamer Initiative set out to register one million women to vote, targeting populations in traditionally overlooked areas, such as public housing developments, transitional housing communities and rural areas.
In 2007 the organization launched the Decency Initiative, headed by Tamika Mallory. The Decency Initiative's initial aims are to prohibit the use of three words in music - the "N" word, the "B" word and "ho." On May 3, James Brown's birthday Reverend Sharpton, Tamika Mallory, NYC Councilwoman Darlene Mealey and the children of James Brown marched with over 1,000 supporters on several music studios in midtown Manhattan.
Sharpton's organization has been heavily courted by endorsement by presidential candidates including both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. .
Read more about this topic: National Action Network
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