Critics denounce him a race hustler, and now some grassroots activists are calling the Rev. Al Sharpton an elitist and questioning his self-appointed role as a civil rights leader for a younger generation.
Sharpton, who incited demonstrators for months over the killing of a black teenager in Missouri, angered some protesters at a weekend march in Washington, D.C., after he created a VIP section for special guests and pulled the microphone on an activist who wanted to address the crowd.
"Youth protesters push back against Al Sharpton's role in police brutality marches," the website
Mashable.com reports.
"If Rev. Al Sharpton ever hoped to lead the 'black lives matter' movement that's sweeping the United States, he likely lost that opportunity in one moment on Saturday."
During the "Justice For All" march in the nation’s capital, Sharpton’s supporters tried to prevent activist Johnetta Elzie from addressing the protest because she was not among the speakers approved by Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN).
Elzie, known as @nettaaaaaaaa on Twitter, had gained respect among the demonstrators because she said she was tear-gassed during a protest in Ferguson, Missouri, over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police office.
She argued that young people deserved a voice among the speakers because so many had led the demonstrations in Ferguson. When she finally got on the stage and began speaking, march organizers cut off the microphone, Mashable reported.
The incident sparked outrage on Twitter.
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