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Date Published: January 19, 2004
Sharpton seeks local support
Democratic presidential hopeful makes stop in Stateburg
Keith Gedamke / The Item
The Rev. Charmaine Ragin,
left, pastor of High Hills AME Church, listens as the
Rev. Al Sharpton addresses the crowd at the church in
Stateburg on Sunday. Sharpton made the campaign stop to
garner support in his bid for the Democratic
presidential nomination.
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By BRADEN BUNCH
Item Staff Writer
bradenb@theitem.com
STATEBURG – Democratic presidential hopeful the Rev. Al
Sharpton said Sunday that the secondary goal of his campaign, if he
is unable to receive the party's nomination, is to receive enough
delegates to have an influence on the party's platform at this
year's convention.
Speaking to a capacity crowd at High Hills
AME Church, Sharpton said that if he is able to earn a fair share of
delegates in the upcoming primaries then "they can't ignore us; they
can't push us to the side, and they will have to respect
us."
The comments came in response to criticism of his
campaign, Sharpton said, that he cannot win the nomination and could
be hurting the chances of the eventual Democratic nominee of
defeating President George W. Bush in the November
election.
"We've got to first deal with how we got Bush in
the first place," Sharpton said. "We got him because there were too
many Democrats running around acting like Republicans."
The
local service was one of four campaign stops on the day for the
candidate. While standing on the pulpit, Sharpton said the black
community needs to become more involved in the civil rights effort
and the electoral process for his campaign to garner the necessary
delegates.
"Don't waste your vote giving it to someone who
won't stand up for you," Sharpton told the crowd of more than 200
people.
Recent polls place Sharpton near the back of the pack
nationally, but near the top in the South Carolina primary, and
Sharpton has been campaigning heavily in the Palmetto State while
most of the other Democratic candidates have focused on Iowa or New
Hampshire.
Sharpton reassured the capacity audience Sunday
afternoon that his ties to South Carolina are strong and that unlike
other candidates who are running what he called "drive-by campaigns"
he has been involved. He pledged to continue be a part of South
Carolina politics.
"This is my third King Day weekend dealing
with that flag," Sharpton said, referring to the Confederate flag
flying outside the Statehouse.
And it's events like the
Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the Columbia rally sponsored by
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that
should remind the black community it needs to continue to battle for
equality, he said.
"There's a strange epidemic going around
called 'negro amnesia,'" Sharpton said. "Negroes forget where they
come from, and if you don't know where you come from, you don't know
where you're at.
"That's why it's outrageous to me that a lot
of you look at tomorrow as a day off," Sharpton said
Sunday.
Marcia Ragin, who coordinated Sunday's event for the
local church, said she hoped Sharpton's presence in the community
would spur more people to be more politically active.
"Not
just Al Sharpton, but any of the candidates could do that," Ragin
said.
Contact Staff Writer Braden Bunch at bradenb@theitem.com or
803-774-1222.
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