Don't Hate On Al Sharpton - Congratulate Him

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By: Jeff Johnson

I am coming to you this morning from Los Angeles, California and the NAACP National Convention. So many of the issues that organizations like the NAACP and others are addressing are affected by a 24-hour news cycle and the individuals on those airwaves that champion or ignore those same issues.

For years, there have been no black hosts in primetime cable news and fewer than a handful anywhere in cable news. Last week, that reality was served a blow when MSNBC decided to announce that Rev. Al Sharpton would become the network's newest host, filling the 6 p.m. hour of the cable network's programming. Now, MSNBC had been using Rev. Sharpton to fill in for Cenk Uygur and then seemingly opened space for him to continue to audition (if you will) for the spot. I heard my fair share of comments regarding his performance, from praise to reasonable critique, to straight-up hate. And when it was finally announced that he would get the spot, the naysayers came out of the woodwork. CONTINUE....