Activists Feel The Bern At Al Sharpton Summit

Bernie Sanders opened his speech at the National Action Network 25th Anniversary in Midtown Manhattan by saying, “I have a history of being blunt. So let’s be blunt today.” The senator made it clear that although he has been friends with his rival, Hillary Clinton, for 25 years, he will not allow her jabs from the day before go unchecked.

While the former Secretary of State might have been a tough act to follow – especially in the “Clinton Territory” of New York, the Democratic underdog received nothing short of a warm welcome from the audience Thursday afternoon.

Rev. Sharpton gave accolades to the self-proclaimed democratic socialist for returning to the gathering “with a lot of momentum” after winningeight of the last nine primaries and caucuses, as well as having “changed the conversation in this election.” This time, the reverend wanted the senator to specify what policies will bring justice to the black community.

Sanders listed a number of “fundamental truths” ranging from the rigged economy to the broken criminal justice system to Republican voter suppression laws and reinvesting in the country, especially inner cities.

“This is America 2016. We shouldn’t be poisoning our children. Schools shouldn’t be drop out factories.”

Highlighting milestones in his civil rights’ activism, Sanders cited marching on Washington with Dr. King, voting against Bill Clinton’s welfare reform bill, and supporting Reverend Jesse Jackson (who was front row at the summit) when he ran for president in 1988, despite losing support from his constituents.

Rev. Jackson, however, refrained from endorsing a particular candidate and instead told the NY Daily News, “I have focused on reconciling Hillary and Bernie’s views because it’s going to take both to win. I’m pushing both of them.”

Sanders faces an uphill fight when it comes to swaying black voters away from the established Clinton camp.

“His relationships are just new,” Jackson said. “The more people will get to know Bernie, the more they’ll like him, frankly.”

Despite being “new” to the scene, the Brooklyn-born senator had the audience clearly feeling the Bern – earning a lot of praise and hefty cheers from the start of his speech to the very end.

The Vermont Senator reinforced the key points of his platform, including income inequality and free college, linking racial equality to income inequality by referencing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Dr. King recognized, quote, ‘It is criminal to have people working on a full-time basis, at a full-time job, getting part-time income,'” he said. “What does it matter if you desegregate a lunch counter if you don’t have the money to buy the damn hamburger?”

Sanders concluded with a not-so-subtle attack on Clinton for not only accepting financial and political support from SuperPACs, but also her support for the War in Iraq.

“I got a simple question,” the Senator said. “How does it happen we have trillions of dollars available to spend on war in Iraq we never should have gotten into, but then we’re told we don’t have the funds available to rebuild inner cities in America?”

“If you believe that those issues can be addressed by the establishment politics and establishment economics, you’ve got a very good candidate to vote for, but it’s not Bernie Sanders,” he announced.

By the time the speech was over, immediately following a standing ovation, a sea of people rushed to the front where he did a brief walk-through. Chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!” erupted.

Now whether they actually translate that into the votes Tuesday is the question.