Sunday, June 10, 2007
Rudy & Black New York
The Washington Post gives a pretty fair synopsis of Giuliani's problematic relationship with New York's African American community -- however, it took some doing to explore that relationship without mentioning Rev. Al Sharpton once.
That's not to give Sharpton undue credit, but his presence as Giuliani's, ahem, bete noire, is an historical fact. Furthermore, author Perry Bacon overlooks that the relationship between the mayor and New York blacks began to deteriorate less than a month after Giuliani took office partly due to Sharpton's orchestrated outrage over a police confrontation outside of a Harlem mosque.
This was perceived at the time as Sharpton and Co.'s initial "testing" of the mayor. Giuliani refused to take the bait and continued to keep Sharpton at arm's length. That was the right thing to do. Of course, as the article suggests, Giuliani's error was in his relations -- or lack thereof -- with other, far more moderate, black leaders.
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That's not to give Sharpton undue credit, but his presence as Giuliani's, ahem, bete noire, is an historical fact. Furthermore, author Perry Bacon overlooks that the relationship between the mayor and New York blacks began to deteriorate less than a month after Giuliani took office partly due to Sharpton's orchestrated outrage over a police confrontation outside of a Harlem mosque.
This was perceived at the time as Sharpton and Co.'s initial "testing" of the mayor. Giuliani refused to take the bait and continued to keep Sharpton at arm's length. That was the right thing to do. Of course, as the article suggests, Giuliani's error was in his relations -- or lack thereof -- with other, far more moderate, black leaders.
Labels: Al Sharpton, Rudy Giuliani
