DEI

Reverend Al Sharpton

Reverend, Activist

The longtime freedom fighter takes no days off as he continues to rally for the civil rights of marginalized communities.

For decades, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s advocacy has placed him at the forefront of seeking equality and peace for Black families who have fallen victim to racial violence and an unfair justice system.

Sharpton is well known for garnering national attention and bringing public awareness to racial adversities such as police brutality, America’s housing crisis, hateful acts against Black individuals, and other actions that target the civil rights of Black Americans.

The most recent case the activist is placing a spotlight on is the death in Mississippi of Dexter Wade, a Black man who was run over by a police officer in March. Wade was buried though no one informed his mother of the fatal encounter or the burial. After reporting her son missing in March and searching for him, she found out nearly six months later that he was dead and buried. Sharpton issued a call to action for the Department of Justice to investigate Wade’s case and the Jackson, Mississippi, police department’s procedures, tactics and culture.

“What happened to Dexter Wade is one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard,” Sharpton wrote in a statement. “This is truly as bad as it gets. You have an off-duty officer who fatally strikes a Black man with an official vehicle, then a department that says they cannot locate a next of kin while his mother begs and pleads with anyone who will listen to find her son. The details clearly show this is a cover-up — plain and simple.”

In proper Sharpton form, he sheds light on incidents and places them high on the public’s radar to evoke pressure on political leaders and government officials to respond. Sharpton’s influence has made him instrumental in the development of several high-profile cases: George Floyd, Tyre Nichols, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Rayshard Brooks and others.

Sharpton stands on the shoulders of past changemakers in the civil rights arena. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. John Lewis, his mentor, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and others played a role in Sharpton’s unwavering commitment to civil rights and advancing Black communities through nonviolent resistance.

At 69 years old, Sharpton still stands strong as the go-to advocate who continues to publicly protest, and there are no signs he is slowing down.

In February, the documentary “Loudmouth” premiered on BET, exploring his life’s work of fighting for social justice. He hosts a weekend news talk show, “PoliticsNation,” on MSNBC. He also has his daily national radio show, “Keepin’ It Real,” where he keeps listeners abreast of major political events and updates. He is the author of several books including, “Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads,” “The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership,” “Righteous Troublemakers: Untold Stories of the Social Justice Movement in America” and many others. He was a guest lecturer at Tennessee State University. He also has been honored with multiple honorary doctorate degrees from Bethune-Cookman University, Fisk University and Medgar Evers College, to name a few.

He is the founder of the National Action Network (NAN), a not-for-profit civil rights organization. NAN, which Sharpton created in 1991, promotes an agenda focusing on criminal justice reform, police accountability, crisis intake and victim assistance, voting rights, corporate responsibility and pension diversity, youth leadership and technology accessibility.

NAN has nearly 100 chapters nationwide where members meet and organize about issues impacting their local communities. The work of NAN has been recognized and praised by other changemakers, including former President Barack Obama, who in 2007 deemed Sharpton “the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden” at one of the organization’s conventions.

Sharpton is relentless in his efforts to empower and be a voice for marginalized communities – an initiative instilled in him when he was a child.

The New York native was born in 1954 in Queens. The future crusader’s introduction to preaching started early. Sharpton began preaching at 4 years old, and his first sermon was at the Washington Temple Church of God in Christ. Before reaching his teens, Sharpton found himself preaching throughout the country with the guidance of Bishop F.D. Washington and the Rev. Dr. Bill Jones, two pastors Sharpton’s mother connected him with. From there, he was introduced to Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1967. When Sharpton reached 13, he was appointed by Jackson and the Rev. William Augustus Jones as the youth director for the New York chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket. His experience in that role laid the foundation for his training in civil disobedience and direct action, which he would later adopt into his current practices.

Sharpton’s desire to fight for civil rights grew as he was surrounded by powerful leaders. He learned from the Rev. William A. Jones, Hosea Williams, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker and other influential activists. Sharpton founded his first civil rights organization, the National Youth Movement, at 16. He eventually met James Brown and grew closer to the musician. In 1973, Brown adopted Sharpton as his godson. Sharpton’s frequent association with the “Godfather of Soul” taught him how to captivate the public.

“I would watch what moves and what songs excited people, and I would take notes,” Sharpton told The New York Times. “Because you’ve got to keep people’s attention.”

Sharpton put the knowledge he absorbed from his influential mentors to the test with his first major case in 1986. Three Black men who were looking for help after their car broke down stopped at a New York pizza shop in Howard Beach, an all-white neighborhood in Queens, New York. The men were approached by white teenagers, and an argument started. The teenagers left and returned with a mob to attack the Black men. Michael Griffith, 23, one of the men chased by the white mob, was killed after getting struck by a car. Sharpton made it his duty to organize several protests rallying for justice for the men. He and over a thousand protesters marched through Howard Beach. In the end, three of the attackers were convicted of second-degree manslaughter.

Sharpton’s success at mobilizing demonstrators and contributing to the mobbers’ conviction set him on track to fight for other cases.

In 1989, Sharpton conducted several protests after a 16-year-old teenager, Yusuf Hawkins, was attacked by a white mob, shot and then killed in Brooklyn. His public display of marching for justice garnered him more public attention. Even after being stabbed in the chest during one of the demonstrations, he did not let that incident deter him from pushing forward. He campaigned for the Senate in 1992 and 1994 and lost both times. He ran for New York City mayor in 1997 and ran for president in 2004, which he did not win either.

Although he was never elected to office, those setbacks never dissuaded him from continuing his social justice advocacy. He continued to march. He continued to protest. He continued to be the spokesperson behind a podium or in the streets for Black families longing for justice and accountability.

His push to evoke change raised awareness about injustices for families, including those of Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Michael Brown and many more. As part of his annual commemoration of Dr. King’s March on Washington, over 200,000 people attended in 2020 to demand police reform, and the event was led by families of Black individuals who lost their lives to police brutality.

Sharpton’s influence runs deep and is highly praised. In 2014, Vanity Fair called him “arguably the country’s most influential civil-rights leader.” Sharpton lives up to that proclamation as he continues his long strides forward despite the violence, multiple imprisonments for civil disobedience and other obstacles he has endured.

Sharpton’s legacy lives in his persistent mission of achieving justice where it is due and, in return, brings society closer to systemic equality.

Robert Raben

Lawyer, Strategist, Entrerpreneur

Meet Robert Raben — a strategist's strategist on a lifelong mission to inject humanity, common sense, equity, and justice into the fabric of American politics and culture. Since its founding in 2002, Raben has grown to include a diverse team of 100+ experts, consultants, activists, and communicators working tirelessly to change the faces of power in public policy, media, education, business, philanthropy, the arts, and more. With decades of experience as an attorney, senior Hill staffer, and assistant attorney general, Robert easily navigates legal subtleties and powers through political realities.

Robert’s highly respected legislative career began on Representative Barney Frank’s staff, where he served as counsel to Frank (Democratic counsel for two Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee); first on the Constitution, then on the Courts and Intellectual Property.

In 1999, Robert’s reputation and effectiveness earned him an appointment to the Department of Justice as principal deputy assistant attorney general and, subsequently, assistant attorney general of the Office of Legislative Affairs. After a unanimous confirmation vote by a Republican-controlled Senate, Robert was charged with overseeing Attorney General Janet Reno’s legislative initiatives and leading responses to extensive Congressional oversight of the department.  Robert was the first openly gay man to receive Senate confirmation, and to lead in a law enforcement agency.

Beyond his work with the firm, Robert has served on the boards of game-changing entities, including The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, NRDC, the UnidosUS Action Fund, President Barack Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. the American Constitution Society, the Alliance for Justice, the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and more.

As a serial NGO entrepreneur, Robert has started initiatives impacting the leadership of our country, including Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, the March on Washington Film Festival, and Green 2.0. Robert hails from Miami and holds degrees from the Wharton School and the New York University Law School. He is a Scorpio.

Bob Greene

NAIC, CEO

Robert L. Greene is President & CEO of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the industry association representing diverse-owned private equity firms and hedge funds. Bob is responsible for leading all facets of the association including capital and policy advocacy, performance research, member services, and strategic alliance development.

Bob is the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), an $85 billion public pension plan which administers a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan and a variety of other retirement benefits for over 600,000 state employees. During his tenure Bob led a number of committees of the board including the Audit & Compliance Committee, Administration & Personnel Committee, and Investment Policy Committee.

Previously, Bob was Director of Private Equity with Arthur Andersen’s Transaction Advisory Services Practice where he provided due diligence and other advisory services to some of the largest private equity firms in the nation like Allied Capital, Texas Pacific Group and The Carlyle Group.

Bob is widely regarded as a thought leader in entrepreneurship, finance and diversity & inclusion. He was recognized in The Root 100 list of prominent business leaders and is a frequent speaker for the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Pension Bridge, NMSDC, Robert Toigo Foundation and the Executive Leadership Council.

Bob received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, Virginia. Bob holds lifetime memberships in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., the National Eagle Scout Association, and the National INROADS Alumni Association.

Shelley Stewart

McKinsey, Sr. Partner

Shelley is a senior partner with McKinsey’s Growth, Marketing & Sales Practice, serving clients across a range of sectors including private capital; advanced industries; and telecommunications, media, and technology. In addition to his client service, Shelley is Global Leader of Reputation & Engagement (R&E) and Chair of the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, a think-and-do tank focused on catalyzing cross-sector action to build a more inclusive, dynamic economy.

As leader of R&E, Shelley oversees global marketing, communications, publishing, and reputation at McKinsey, focusing on increasing awareness of the firm’s impact and capabilities and engaging with clients and stakeholders across diverse industries in over 65 countries.

A thought leader, Forbes contributor, and frequent public speaker at global events—including the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and the Black Economic Forum—he uses his voice on topics vital to businesses, economies, and people, striving for a future marked by sustainable, inclusive growth.

In 2024, Shelley was named one of Bloomberg Businessweek’s Ones to Watch in investing. In 2023, he was selected as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, named a Notable Black Leader by Crain’s New York Business in 2022, and recognized as one of the Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America by SAVOY Magazine.

Shelley is a member of the Economic Club of New York and is on the board of directors

of the Brooklyn Community Foundation. Previously, he served on the board of directors of the National Black MBA Association.

Before joining McKinsey, Shelley worked in the financial-services industry. He held a variety of roles at an investment banking firm, and subsequently cofounded a private investment firm. Shelley has a BA in economics from Boston College, an MBA from Columbia University, an MPA from Harvard University, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of New Haven.