Al Sharpton says for as long as this country has been around, wealthy, prominent Black folks have been targeted ... because the feds see them as easy targets.
00:00There's a lot going on with a lot of our powerful black men, you know, and they're in the news, and there's been an ongoing conspiracy theory that there's an agenda to take down rich black men. What do you say to that theory?
00:16I think that as long as we have seen this country, that blacks that have been prominent and now wealthy and prominent have been targeted because it's easy to go after them. I think we've got to be very balanced and say that we're not going to believe every accusation given against somebody.
00:39But at the same time, we need to hold them accountable. If there is evidence of them doing wrong, they should not use their wealth and celebrity in our community to justify some misbehavior.
00:52So I've not said some things about some cases because the evidence bothers me. But others are just, in my opinion, just scam artists trying to take advantage.
01:05So I think that the price you pay for being wealthy is you have to behave like somebody under the spotlight. Nobody should think that they get immunity and that we ought to run to the barricades to support you.
01:18But if you are being wronged, I'm the first one there.
01:21Do you think that this year's Juneteenth celebration is even more significant given the migrant protests that we recently experienced or have witnessed rather?
01:30I definitely think this year's Juneteenth takes on new meaning as we see people of color and particularly Haiti, South America, Mexico, hit with a travel ban while they brought 59 whites in from South Africa claiming there was white genocide going on in South Africa that no one's been able to find.
01:56Even Fox News hasn't found the footage of that.
01:59So it takes a particular meaning because it reminds us of how blacks stayed in slavery two years after the Emancipation Proclamation unjustifiably because they were not aware they were free and the Union Army had not come in and rescued them.
02:18So here we are with elected officials, mayors, city controllers, senators being pushed around, all around this issue, arrested around this issue.
02:29I think that that makes today a real significant reminder that we're not where we should be in this country.
02:36It's just a real big deal.
02:37I think that's why we were able to like to be the judge.
