Sharpton Stresses Community Duty, Warns of Epidemic 'Negro Amnesia'

The Rev. Al Sharpton called for his listeners to renew their commitment to justice in light of continuing racism in a speech at the Law School yesterday.

Sharpton, the opening speaker at the Harvard Black Law Students Association's Spring Career/Alumni Conference, spoke before an audience of 250. He stressed duty to the community above individual careers, warning the audience "of an epidemic going around the country-Negro amnesia."

He cautioned against ingratitude to those "who risked their lives for others to advance." Instead, Sharpton advocated volunteering time to programs like daycare centers to "achieve a degree of gratitude for those who paid the price."

"What will they say about this generation-the 'me' generation?" Sharpton asked. "As a clergyman, there is nothing harder than preaching the funeral of an unproductive person."

"Your life should mean something for your neighborhood, your community," Sharpton said. "We have become too self-centered and content. None of us has made any advancement on our own."

"History will not be impressed with degrees or scholarship, but with what you share with others," Sharpton said.

Sharpton, who anticipates a bid for U.S. Senate in 1994, also addressed the Rodney King beating, calling last spring's Los Angeles riots in the aftermath of the King verdict, the "result of decades of negligence."

He advocated more federal intervention. "There will always be a riot around the corner until the system is changed," Sharpton said. "We need to spell out what is excessive force."

"There is an illusion that the struggle [for civil rights] is over. We must still strive to close the gap," he added, urging the audience to "aid toward the liberation of all mankind."