Offense and defense

Sharpton gave them reason to be happy with their choice, and not just because the Spartans lost that night. No Big 10 squad mixes defense with offense as deftly as Sharpton does all by himself.

Sharpton was the third in a triumvirate of civil rights speakers to visit MSU this month. U.S. Rep. John Lewis spoke Feb. 6 and actor-singer-activist Harry Belafonte spoke Feb. 12.

In a 45-minute talk, the veteran civil rights activist tossed into the air several familiar objections that have dogged him for years, flipping them into pointed rhetorical thrusts.

He wearily ticked off familiar charges that he and other activists rile up racial tensions and "hate America."

"The challenge of the 21st century is that we are still fighting racial disparities," he said, citing sharp inequalities in employment rates, education, health care and the criminal justice system.

"Those that raise it are not the ones that hate the country; they´re the ones that love the country," he said. "Those that want to leave the country the way it is — I question whether they love the country."

The only way to honor the civil rights landmarks of previous generations, he said, is to "complete the journey."

"The fight today is on criminal justice, preserving voting and democratizing health care," he said. "The challenge is not just to recount and celebrate black history but to continue to make it."

The dense weave of offense and defense reached maximum tightness when Sharpton tried to explain why dead civil rights leaders like King are lionized, while living ones — including, by implication, himself — are not.

"It is easy to glorify leaders who are not going to call you to action," he said. "Those that are still on the scene — we will find any reason to besmirch or smear a movement because we really want to find a reason not to do what others did so well before us."

Sharpton spent several minutes detailing the timeline of his involvement in protests over the fatal shooting by police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Brown´s grandfather, Lesley McSpadden, asked for Sharpton´s personal involvement to help raise the issue to national prominence.

Sharpton said he agreed to become involved only if McSpadden would publicly request it on Sharpton´s MSNBC television program, "PoliticsNation."

"I know the right-wing play," Sharpton said. " ´There he goes again, starting up trouble.´ I never get involved in cases unless someone directly involved in the family asks us to get involved."

Sharpton said organizations like his National Action Network and the NAACP exist to provide "institutional support" to people who would not get help otherwise.

"When a policeman is accused of a crime, the union provides lawyers, resources, backup, whatever they need," Sharpton said.

"Family got nobody. Ain´t no union for victims of police brutality."

Sharpton reserved the most personal moments of his talk to answer the oft-heard reproach that African-Americans should "get over slavery and segregation."

"My mother couldn´t vote in her hometown in Alabama until she was 39 years old," he said. "[She] had to sit on the back of the bus. I´m not talking about something prehistoric."

Seven years ago, Sharpton made a pilgrimage to Edgefield, S.C., where his greatgrandfather was a slave. He learned that his great-grandfather was owned by Alexander Sharpton, who was married to the aunt of Strom Thurmond, the segregationist senator from South Carolina.

As he told the story, Sharpton waved a piece of paper (emblazoned with the name of the speaker series, "Freedom to Slavery") to dramatize the moment when he saw a bill of sale marked with his great-grandfather´s name, height and weight.

After a lifetime in the civil rights movement, the trip made the struggle personal for Sharpton. He visited the unmarked graves of slaves at the old plantation in Edgefield and saw a cramped log cabin where 75 slaves, including his great-grandfather, slept.

"I don´t think people understand we are not just talking about figures in history," he said. "These are people in our lives, just a couple of generations ago."

He recalled that his classmates at school could trace their family trees with "justifiable pride."

"But when we recount our family tree, we are race baiting and agitating," he said. "No, we´re just talking about our family tree."

Sharpton conducted the one-man debate with his foes with a slight air of weariness, but he had some fun with the charge that he is a publicity seeker.

"They always accuse us of wanting publicity," he said. "They did it to Dr. King, and they do it to the lesser of us. Well, that is exactly what I want. The job of an activist is to get publicity on an issue. Don´t nobody call me to keep their thing a secret."