Activist Sharpton Plans to Open Office in L.A.

Al Sharpton--New York’s most vociferous activist, outspoken critic of police brutality, lightning rod for black-Jewish relationships, master of the street protest--is heading to Los Angeles.

Sharpton, who is also exploring a 2004 Democratic presidential campaign, said in an interview that he is planning to open an L.A. office of his Harlem-based National Action Network by year’s end.

Whether Sharpton will find his own niche or usurp someone else’s, however, is the subject of some debate among local civil rights activists.

Sharpton has long been derided by his opponents as a race-baiting rabble-rouser--most notably for his support of a black teenager’s false rape allegation against white men in the late 1980s. He has long been able to mobilize thousands of supporters in a flash. But in recent years he has also won grudging, pan-ethnic respect for his diplomatic skills and political intelligence. He is now poised to become the nation’s best-known African American political voice.

Without directly mentioning his mentor and friend, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, 47, says the civil rights leadership torch has been passed to him and other younger activists.

It was Sharpton, a figure in numerous confrontations between blacks and Jews in New York, who last week took a goodwill trip to Israel, where he urged Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat to talk peace. And it is Sharpton who now aims to lead a delegation of ministers to Afghanistan to counsel and comfort imprisoned aid workers accused of evangelizing Muslims.

Sharpton said his L.A. office will continue the work that has ingrained him in New York City politics, protesting police brutality and other injustices. His long-term goal, however, is to forge a political coalition of blacks and Latinos. That has been a commonly expressed goal in Los Angeles, but this year’s mayoral race--in which most blacks voted for James K. Hahn and most Latinos supported Antonio Villaraigosa--underscored its elusiveness.

Black Leader Building Coalitions With Latinos

In New York, Sharpton has worked to build coalitions with Latinos, first by protesting test bombing on the island of Vieques, which is strongly opposed by many Puerto Ricans, then by endorsing Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer for mayor. Although Ferrer lost the Democratic primary runoff to Mark Green, the alliances endure.

In an interview, Sharpton said more ethnic unity in Los Angeles would translate into more power against questionable practices like racial profiling by law enforcement officers. “We would come to the table with more weight behind us,” he said.

Some local activists welcome Sharpton because of the attention his presence will bring. Those who are suspicious say so elliptically, unwilling to alienate him.

Molly Bell of Compton, who works with a host of social change organizations and was contacted by Sharpton in February about working for his group, says his arrival will bring new heft to old fights.

Bell said she does not share Sharpton’s fondness for sharp-tongued social protest, but looks forward to being able to tell her targets: “You can either get with what I’m doing, or get with that over there. . . . I’m willing to give him 100% of my support. . . . Yes, he says things that throw off white folks, but then the other side will be there to balance it.”

Many local activists believe that Sharpton brings an oversimplified view of black-Latino relations. Najee Ali, who organizes frequent protest-style news conferences and demonstrations, said Villaraigosa’s ability to draw 20% of the black vote in the mayor’s race was one sign of the kind of unity Sharpton claims does not exist. “I think he’s been misinformed.”

Not All Local Activists Are Happy He’s Coming

Supporters of Villaraigosa believed that much of the candidate’s black support came from younger African Americans, portending greater racial cooperation.

“All the progressive blacks and activists are continuing to work with [Villaraigosa], and now we’re trying to build bridges with [Los Angeles City Council President Alex] Padilla,” Ali said.

Added former state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), now chairman of the California Democratic Party, who recently met with Sharpton: “I think there really has been a lot of progress. I see it every day in blacks in their 20s and early 30s who are much more aware we have to work together.”

Bruce Cain, head of the Institute for Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley and an expert on the state’s racial and ethnic politics, said Sharpton cannot succeed without powerful local allies.

“It’s like the U.S. going into Afghanistan without the help of the Northern Alliance,” Cain said. “There are tunnels and caves and land mines, and if you don’t know where they are, you’re going to get blown apart.”

Such an alliance, however, makes only partial political sense for Latinos, said Steven Erie, director of the urban studies and planning program at UC San Diego.

One school of thought, he said, holds that Latino politicians should “play the ethnic card and primarily appeal to Latino voters and Latino interests and agenda.” In that scenario, which relies on numbers and voting power, alliance with blacks is barely necessary.

A Growing Ability to Make Unlikely Alliances

The other approach, which Villaraigosa nearly rode to victory, is the “crossover” model that relies on coalitions.

“For an outsider to come in and to set the terms of the alliance or the agenda? Frankly, I think it’s a doomed effort on his part,” Erie said.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Sharpton’s recent trip to Israel illustrated his ability to forge unlikely alliances. With the help of New York rabbis, Sharpton planned the trip immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, saying he was determined to make a sympathetic gesture toward victims of terrorism in Israel.

“I said, ‘What! Al Sharpton is in Israel? I can’t believe it!’ ” Hier said. He was stunned not only that Sharpton had gone, but that he had been welcomed. To Jews, Sharpton is indelibly linked to incidents like the Crown Heights riots: For three days, blacks and Jews faced off over the death of a black child killed by an Orthodox Jewish driver and the subsequent murder of an Orthodox Jewish student. In the past, Hier said, Sharpton has “rightly been viewed as racist and anti-Semitic.”

But Hier said he is willing to understand the trip as a measure of Sharpton’s growth. “He is regarded, he has a constituency and a large following. Is he doing it to further his political aspirations? Yes. But so what? He wouldn’t be the first one to do that,” he said.

“There’s nothing wrong with people who have political motives as long as they mix a little goodness and consciousness as well. I’m willing to listen to him,” Hier said.

Anti-Semitism Charge a Bad Rap, He Says

Sharpton says he is equally magnanimous toward Jews. The charge of anti-Semitism, he says, is a baseless one that has unjustifiably haunted many black politicians. “There has to be a redefinition of how we’re going to relate,” he said. “We cannot choose their leaders, and they cannot choose ours.”

He sees himself as one of several African American leaders who entered the public eye during a local controversy and grew into national stature.

“I think there is a natural development of anyone that happens,” he said. “Look at Dr. [Martin Luther] King. He started in Montgomery and ended up international. Jesse Jackson started out local, in Chicago. Everyone in my tradition did that. What would have been abnormal is if I didn’t grow.”