This Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton will be featured on 60 Minutes. Telling interviewer Lesley Stahl to call him a "refined agitator" (hey, he has been working with Mayor Bloomberg and Newt Gingrich), he says, "I've learned to pick my fights and also to be more strategic about my fight plan. Doesn't mean it's not the same fight, but it means I'm a different and I'm a more seasoned fighter." Of course, one of the main things Stahl wants to talk about is the Tawana Brawley incident. more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network Convention attracted White House officials, Bill Cosby, Mayor Bloomberg and Mariah Carey and the Post's Andrea Peyser writes, "With pared-down hair and tailored suits"—track suits are 20 years ago—"Al Sharpton has emerged as the Lady Gaga of the civil-rights movement — undergoing a style makeover aimed at turning the Rev. into the thing he craves most: a player." Her reaction to his statements about "trying to bridge the illiteracy and entitlement gaps"? "Zzzz... This was a far cry from Sharpton, circa 1987, who promoted the Tawana Brawley rape hoax, and the ’90s Sharpton, who revved up anti-Semites in Crown Heights." Detectives union head Michael Palladino said, "Despite the change of clothes, my guard is not down. The true Al will come out during the next controversial police shooting.” more ›

After Cyrus Vance Jr. was elected to Manhattan DA, his campaign issued a press release noting a 30+ person transition team, made up of other lawyers, union leaders, and others. The Daily News notes the inclusion of Rev. Dr. C. Vernon Mason, best known for advising Tawana Brawley. Mason, who even ran against Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau in 1985, was eventually disbarred for "mistreating poor clients" in 1995; he's currently a deacon at the Abyssinian Baptist church and a NY Theological Seminary faculty member. Vance's team said, "C. Vernon Mason is a well-respected clergy member who cares deeply about his community and the criminal justice issues faced by youth and adults." more ›

November marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Tawana Brawley affair--an incident that inflamed racial relations in New York and across the country after a teenage girl alleged that she had been sexually assaulted and abused by police. The ensuing media circus thrust Rev. Al Sharpton into the limelight and established his bona fides as a community spokesman. It also tarnished the reputations of the people she accused of raping her and, later... more ›

A who's who of the Democratic party has been at the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network conference in Midtown this past week. Opening day saw hopeful John Edwards and Democratic party chair Howard Dean, yesterday included former president Bill Clinton, Senator Joe Biden, Senator Christopher Dodd, and Governor Bill Richardson, today has Senator Hillary Clinton and tomorrow Senator Barack Obama and Representative Dennis Kucinich are appearing - which is why it's called the "Sharpton primary" by many. With his profile very high after the Don Imus-Rutgers women's basketball incident, the Sun notes that Sharpton is a political force. more ›

A NY Times reporter spent yesterday observing and experiencing the Reverend Al Sharpton's action rally at his National Action Network headquarters.

On most Saturdays, the so-called House of Justice on West 145th Street can feel as casual as the International House of Pancakes 10 blocks south. Anyone can walk in and take a seat. The words etched onto the large tinted window at the entrance, facing 145th Street, read not House of Justice or National Action Network but Diamond Gym, the storefront’s former occupant, which explains why the walls are lined with mirrors. more ›

So in all of the hub-bub in our comments section yesterday about photographs taken at yesterday's rally, we worry you might have missed this gem and its accompanying scene: more ›