Al Sharpton: Afternoon with 'Uncle Al'

by Dawn Trice

DENVER -- It's about 2 p.m. mountain time, when I enter the Pepsi Center to interview the Rev. Al Sharpton.

He's in a place called Radio Row, an enclosed room with queues of tables where radio folk are broadcasting their shows. Although we have an appointment, he himself is heading off to an interview. We have to walk and talk. Before he can stand to leave, already there's a mob surrounding him.

Cameras are snapping. Like in those old movies, set in the 1950s. Only thing's missing is the sound of the flash. If you think Barack Obama is a rock star...

We leave Radio Row and head out into the main lobby of the center. He's recognized immediately and the people start to flock.

Here's what I find interesting: I get e-mail all the time about Sharpton. Much of it is disparaging. In fact, all of it is disparaging. In e-mails to me, readers have called him "a poverty pimp," "a race baiter." They often link him to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, referring to the two as "the reverends." They say he (or both) is the reason racism still exists and the reason too many blacks can't get jiggy with being "post-racial." (OK they don't say that exactly but you know what I mean.)

So I'm a bit stunned as I walk with him ---and he moves fast---that the majority of the people pleading for a picture are white. The majority of people hoping to make a quick introduction are white. The majority of the people waving are white.

See the rest of the account of my afternoon with Sharpton.at Exploring Race.