Photo: YouTube
New York, NY (Sunday, February 5, 2023) – Civil Rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton will make a two-day visit to the United Kingdom, where he will address the shared challenges around voting rights and police accountability for Black Americans and Black Britons. The pivotal visit comes less than a week after Rev. Sharpton delivered a powerful eulogy for Trye Nichols, whose killing by Memphis police has sparked global outrage and new calls for reform.
Rev. Sharpton will address Nichols’ death and the parallels of police brutality in the UK, where the number of Stop and Searches for Black people increased 24% since the COVID-19 pandemic. As many Americans have called for justice for Tyre Nichols, Britons have demanded similar forms after several gross instances of police misconduct.
He will discuss this and other common issues at several events that include a keynote address to some 250 students and fellows at Homerton College, Cambridge on Tuesday, February 7th at noon GMT. Later that day, he will meet with activists about voting rights at an event in Hackney organized by the Black Equity Organisation in partnership with the Alliance for Police Accountability, and the Advocacy Academy. (The event begins at 7 p.m. GMT will be available via livestream.)
The visit represents more than 30 years of friendship between Rev. Sharpton and Lord Simon Woolley. In 1991, Rev. Sharpton traveled to the UK to protest the racist killing of 15-year-old Rolan Adams. He has regularly returned since that time, working with Operation Black Vote, which is currently aiming to get 4 million people registered to vote ahead of the next election.
WHO
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network
WHEN + WHERE
Monday, February 6th
Attends a 1 p.m. GMT Operation Black Vote event at Parliament
Attends a 6:45 p.m. GMT private screening of Loudmouth
Tuesday, February 7th
Makes a 6:30 a.m. GMT appearance with Lord Simon Woolley on Good Morning Britain
Makes a 7 a.m. GMT appearance on Radio 4’s The Today program
Delivers a 12 p.m. GMT keynote address at Homerton College, Cambridge
Speaks at 7:15 p.m. GMT BEO event
About National Action Network (NAN)
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender.
For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.
