Sharpton says America’s 250th anniversary is not a ‘celebration’ of Black people
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
MS NOW host Pastor Al Sharpton said America’s upcoming 250th anniversary is not a “celebration” of black people and it is “crazy” to expect them to celebrate it.
“They will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the country on July 4, but that is not our celebration,” Sharpton said at the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary National Convention on Wednesday.
He continued, “We were slaves at the time, and they celebrated signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. We didn’t become free until 1863. So I don’t know what everyone is preparing for the celebration. [for]. You know it seems crazy to me to have a birthday hat at your birthday party. That’s not my event.”
WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: CELEBRATING AMERICA’S 250TH WILL BE ‘DIFFICULT’
Al Sharpton spoke on the 250th Anniversary of the nation’s founding. (BRANDONJ74 via Getty Images)
Sharpton suggested that he should hold a separate meeting in Philadelphia and expressed concern that young citizens did not know the “background” of black people because of President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., who is trying to remove vigilante elements from education.
“When White kids are helped by us talking about reparations or doing something, they think it’s an attack because they don’t know what their grandfather did to us,” Sharpton said.
Sharpton has been critical of removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from businesses and schools, threatening to boycott businesses that have rolled back DEI programs since the start of Trump’s second term.
AL SHARPTON FINDS KAMALA HARRIS ‘POWER FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY’ AMONG 2028 VOTERS
MS NOW CEO Al Sharpton previously called for efforts to eradicate DEI from schools and businesses. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
He also accused DeSantis of trying to “erase Black history” after his administration called for an overhaul of AP African American courses in 2023.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who spoke with Sharpton at the beginning of the meeting, also emphasized the importance of remembering the nation’s history with slavery, advocating the creation of a “Department of Reconciliation” to deal with it.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS AND CULTURE
“We need a Reconciliation Secretary as we have an Education Secretary, a Labor Secretary. We need a Reconciliation Secretary who will report directly to the president, not this president, directly to the president. And the job would be to reconcile our differences,” said Green.
Pastor Al Sharpton, President and Founder, National Action Network, introduced Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania during a fiery discussion during the National Action Network (NAN) annual meeting at the Sheraton Times Square on April 08, 2026 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
He added, “And that reconciliation, for me, I say this unashamedly, unabashedly. I’m Black unequivocally, and I say this: that will include reparations. Reparations for 240 years of free labor that people are still benefiting from today and that we were shut out of the way while they were benefiting.”
