American civil rights and social Justice activist Al Sharpton has revealed his late father’s impact in positively shaping his life, despite suffering many years of abandonment and pain at his hands.
In an Instagram post, Sharpton announced the passing of his father Al Sharpton Sr, honoring his memory and legacy, and revealed that despite ‘years of pain and feelings of abandonment’, their relationship was one that meant a great deal to him.
“I’m deeply saddened to announce the passing of my father, Al Sharpton Sr. Our relationship was complicated, but he was still my father. Over the past 18 years, I was able to work through my pain and feelings of abandonment, and we built a relationship that meant a lot to me.”
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Sharpton highlighted his father’s resilience as well in the post, having grown up in Jim Crow-era Florida before moving to New York City, where he became a successful entrepreneur. Despite his father’s personal shortcomings, Sharpton credited him with instilling a sense of independence and self-pride in himself and his siblings, and indicated these principles as one that has proved to be key for his own personal journey.
“Though his weaknesses may have cost him, he instilled in my sister and me (and later our other siblings) a mentality of independence and self-pride,” Sharpton wrote. “I’ve learned from my own mistakes and from his. May my Daddy rest in peace.”
His father, who died aged 93 left the family in 1963 when Sharpton was only 10, and pursued a relationship with Sharpton’s half-sister who happened to be 18 at the time.
This abandonment had a critical effect on Sharpton’s early life, but over time, the two were able to repair their relationship, and went on to build a bond in the last 18 years of his father’s life.
Born in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood to Alfred Charles Sharpton Sr. and Ada Sharpton (née Richards), Sharpton overcame his difficult upbringing to become a leading figure in the fight for social justice, and in reflecting on his father’s death, he chose to honor both the lessons learned from their strained relationship and his father’s lasting impact on his personal development.
