Sharpton takes on Trump, fellow blacks at Macon church

Inequality, President Donald Trump, religion and Martin Luther King Jr. were among topics of a speech delivered by Rev. Al Sharpton at a Macon church Thursday evening.

The civil rights activist spoke before a crowd of about 250, reminding them of what King said at the march on Washington, D.C., nearly 54 years ago.

“He started by talking about (how) America had given blacks a check that had bounced in the bank of justice and it was returned insufficient funds,” Sharpton said. “Fifty-four years later, the check is back again, but this time they want to stop payment. They got the money, they just want to stop payment. And we come to tell President Trump ... that you can’t write a check and stop the check when the services have already been rendered.”

In the half-full sanctuary of Macedonia Church, 62-year-old said he knows how to fight Trump “because I’ve been fighting him for 40 years.”

Sharpton refused to speak with reporters at the program, which was part of the annual National Action Network Middle Georgia conference.

The National Action Network is a nonprofit founded by Sharpton in 1991 that promotes “a modern civil rights agenda… for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people,” according to its website.

Sharpton warned of “an epidemic” of “Negro amnesia.”

“The symptoms are Negroes forgetting where they come from, how they got there and where they are,” Sharpton said. “They have a severe case in Georgia, too. … Stop ego tripping and self aggrandizing, I came to bring you close to reality.”

Rain started pouring after the 40-minute speech, and people all but rushed out to their cars parked in the lot off Eisenhower Parkway.

“The reverend was right on. He was right on point,” 69-year-old Norman Brown said, standing in the vestibule. “He talked about everybody. He didn’t give anybody a break.”

What resonated with Brown the most, though, was what Sharpton said about the plight of black people.

“What we’re challenged by today is minor in comparison to what we’ve been challenged by over the years,” Brown said. “That, to me, was most significant.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Sharpton takes on Trump, fellow blacks at Macon church."