Rev. Al Sharpton had harsh words for the black community on Monday during the funeral for Michael Brown, the 18-year-old black man fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, earlier this month.
Sharpton said the “bad apples” must be taken care of within American police departments, but the black community must also be “straight up” about its own issues.
“Some of us act like the definition of blackness is how low you can go,” Sharpton said. “Blackness has never been about being a gangster or thug. … Blackness was, no matter how low we were pushed down, we rose up anyhow!”
