Sharpton makes Detroit stop during national voter registration drive

By Laydell Wood Harper/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - The Rev. Al Sharpton visited Detroit this past week-end and drew large crowds wherever he stopped. The reason for the visit was to register people to vote and to get Detroiters excited about the presidential election. Sharpton made a number of stops in a short period of time, but drew record crowds at each location.

On Sunday Rev. Sharpton preached the Sunday sermon from the pulpit of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, one of the largest and most well-known Baptist churches in the country, to a capacity crowd of more than 2,200 people. The word that Al Sharpton was preaching at Hartford spread throughout the community by word of mouth and local media. Those that attended the service were young, old, wealthy, low income and middle class, but they all came together to be inspired and hear Rev. Sharpton, well known television and radio personality preach.

The Honorable Damon J. Keith, Senior Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit introduced Rev. Sharpton, but not without delivering a few words of wisdom of his own; “You’re walking on floors you did not scrub. You’re walking through doors you did not open. I want you to continue to scrub the floors for those who follow you. I want you to open some doors so that others can go through them. You’ve got to leave footprints.” The crowd erupted with a standing ovation for the judge.

Sharpton looking very slim and comfortable in his surroundings walked to the microphone before a huge crowd that was still on their feet applauding with excitement and anticipation. He first introduced Congressman John Conyers as the congressman who won the primary by a landslide. Conyers was also seated in the pulpit area.

Sharpton began, “Every day is a gift from God. Every day above ground is truly a gift. It’s time to take a stand. Most of us never win because we don’t stand for nothing. You can’t head nowhere and be upset because you didn’t get anywhere. The most difficult thing for a preacher is to preach the funeral of an irrelevant person. History only recalls people that stand for something.”

He continued, “It’s not only political it’s personal. God not only called Preachers, God called everybody. Sharpton told the story of being on his college campus as a freshman and his college friends continuously asking to visit his church. He was embarrassed because his mother would stand and jump in church and he didn’t want his friends to see his mother do this. He finally agreed and invited them to his church, and just as he imagined his mother stood and jumped during the service. He was embarrassed, and was teased by his friends.

But later on in life at a march he lead for an innocent young man Rev. Sharpton was stabbed within inches of his heart. The doctors didn’t think he would make it, he recalled telling someone to please just let my mother know. The next morning when doctors examined him they were surprised to see that the wound looked entirely different from the night before. He jumped out of bed against the doctors’ orders, and began to jump just as his mother did in church. He knew she was praying for him. “I’ve lived all my life on hope, when hope runs out I can switch to faith,” Sharpton told the audience. There was another huge burst of applause.

“The ID Laws are nothing short of a Poll Tax, he said.” “Detroit must vote with a vengeance. Our votes will off-set others.”

Comments from those that attended the service were all positive; “He was inspiring,” said Paralee Day, a Hartford member. “I’ve heard him speak but never heard him preach. He’s right; we need to stand for something. I think everyone was moved by his story. He’s a great story teller. And at the end everyone was on their feet.”

Pat Fisher another Hartford member said, I’m energized and even more hopeful that we will have a huge voter turn-out in November.

Rev. Charles C. Adams, Presiding Pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, and son of Dr. Charles G. Adams commented, “This past weekend we had a spirit filled, Christ centered and mission oriented worship service! Rev. Sharpton was the perfect voice to declare that true religion is always mindful of our civic choices and our sympathy towards “the least of these”. He reminded us that “if we do not stand for something, we will fall for anything.” He challenged us to rise to a new level of courage in the face of tyranny, truth in the face of lies, and love when there is so much hatred and resentment in our society.

Hartford Memorial Baptist Church has registered more than 300 people to vote. It is located at 18700 James Couzens. For more information call 861-1285.

The National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the nation with chapters across the U.S., founded by Rev. Al Sharpton. Rev. Charles Williams, II Pastor of King Solomon Church and President of the Detroit Chapter located at 6100 14th Street, Detroit. (313) 312-5287