Rev. Al Sharpton to Reside Temporarily in Chicago

Deborah Bayliss | As of Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Al Sharpton

The Chicago Citizen Newspaper learned Monday that Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr., civil rights activist, and MSNBC television talk show host will take up residence in Chicago.

Sharpton is due to arrive on Oct. 16 for an extended stay as a way to shed light on Chicago’s gun violence and to work with community and church leaders trying to help combat the problem. Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church in the Austin community will meet Sharpton at the airport.

“There are so many people here doing work but the media doesn’t know about them,”Acree said. “Rev. Al wants to highlight the work that’s already being done.”

“We don’t have all the answers, but we need to raise all the questions publicly and consistently,” Sharpton told The Associated Press. “Consistent attention forces a consistent change.”

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Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III talk to reporters outside the U.S Supreme Court Feb. 27 in Washington.

Sharpton’s plan to take up residence in Chicago is somewhat similar to what Martin Luther King Jr. did in the mid-1960s as Chicago became a hub of the civil rights movement. King also rented an apartment in Chicago and led marches citywide. Sharpton has been working with King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, to combat problems within the African American community.

Sharpton and King III, who is alsio moving to Chicago temporarily, will have separate, month-to-month leases.

“While they are here, I’m going to suggest we deal with education and the school closings; gun violence and the drug trade and suburban drug buyers in the city, among other things,” Hatch said.

Sharpton plans to engage in his regular television appearances from Chicago, including the daily broadcast of his MSNBC show, ‘PoliticsNation,’ which airs from 6:00-7:00 p.m. ET.

Chicago last year, had more than 500 homicides which is one of the reasons why Acree’s church recently launched a series of day camps designed to keep children off the streets.

Acree said in a previous news report, the idea behind the day camps is to keep children busy and give them a place to go in the summer. “We need all hands on deck,” Acree said.

Dr. Gary Slutkin, founder and executive director of the Chicago anti-violence group Cure Violence, said Sharpton has been a long-time advocate of violence prevention and intervention efforts.

“In Chicago, or in any city, any visibility is of value if it brings the right responses, if it brings prevention and intervention responses,” Slutkin said.

According to the (FBI) Federal Bureau of Investigations, Chicago passed New York as America's murder capitol despite the Windy City only having a third of the Big Apple's population.

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