Below is a letter from Rev. Al Sharpton to Randolph
Holder Sr., the father of slain NYPD officer Randolph Holder.
Dear Randolph Holder Sr.-
After reviewing some of the media reports this
morning, I write this letter to you because I have deliberately remained
silent in the last 48 hours about the invitation extended by you and
your pastor, Rev. Les Mullings, to attend and have
words at the funeral of your son tomorrow. When I visited you on Saturday
at your invitation and it was raised by you and Rev. Mullings about my
being invited and having words to give unity to the city, I stated to
you then that I am unapologetically committed
to fighting for civil rights causes including cases that involved
alleged police misconduct and brutality. In fact, we are at the
forefront of several cases right now and will continue to pursue
justice. But I have never been, and never has National Action
Network been, anti-police and in fact have worked alongside with police
around gun violence issues which is why we had a vigil for your son in
Harlem on Saturday as we did a vigil on Martin Luther King Day in Brooklyn in memory of the two police officers slain
earlier this year.
I thought my coming might give a sense of unity in
the city; that we can disagree on cases and on policies but that we are
united that the senseless and ruthless killing of officers like your son
must be denounced and we must as a city
come together and mourn that loss. I thought you and your pastor’s idea
that both of you expressed to me on Saturday
showed the height of moral leadership because you cannot heal if you
are selective on those that you allow to be in the discussion. It is
important
this ugliness, whether it is police turning their backs on a mayor at a
hospital, or people demonizing civil rights leaders for raising civil
rights issues, stop and real respectful dialogue occur. Language on both
sides should be geared towards solutions
and not sound bites.
It is clear though after reading several articles
that some union leaders and some others want to turn your and your
pastor’s noble efforts into some kind of confrontation or sideshow and
not keep focused on the brutal, senseless murder
of your son. I refuse, despite my strong feelings on police issues, to
be part of anything that would marginalize and take away from the focus
of this city and nation mourning your son tomorrow. So I therefore, respectfully, want to inform you and your pastor
that I have withdrawn my acceptance of your invitation to attend or have words at the funeral services of your son tomorrow.
I also, though, remain committed to the spirit of unity that you and I
discussed, and National Action Network and I are available upon
your return from Guyana to continue the dialogue to how we can best do
that in the name of your son. We also are contributing $5,000 to you to
help defray the expenses that you and your family incur during this time
of grief.
May God bless you and your family and may the city remember a good cop on tomorrow, who put his life on the line for us, and we owe him our gratitude, not some sideshow.
Sincerely,
Rev. Al Sharpton
Source: The National Action Network
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