Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton spoke of the need for social action on the issue of police brutality Wednesday night at the Georgetown University Law Center. While the focus of his speech was a call for mobilization, he also discussed the issue of brutality in the context of the upcoming presidential election.

Designating police brutality and racial profiling as “the humans rights issues of our time,” Sharpton pointed out that neither party’s presidential candidate has effectively addressed either problem. He explained that he could not blame the candidates as much as the public for the oversight, as all change in the past has been the result of a social mobilization that this generation is not exhibiting.

“JFK did not wake up one day and think, `Let’s improve the lives of southern blacks.’ He responded to a movement, a struggle,” Sharpton said.

Sharpton discussed in detail several recent high profile cases of police brutality in New York City on which he has worked. He especially focused on the case of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima, who was tortured by several officers and sodomized with a plunger. Sharpton took partial credit for the conviction of five officers in the case.

“This is a case that would never have become public with organized response, without mobilization across racial lines, without marches and civil disobedience,” he said.

Calling the convictions “an aberration, not the rule,” Sharpton mentioned the acquittal of all four officers in the Amadou Diallo case, in which an unarmed man was shot 41 times by New York police officers.

According to Sharpton, the acquittals were the result of a change of venue from the Bronx to Albany, where “no cop has ever been convicted of anything.” Sharpton was especially critical of President William J. Clinton (SFS ’68) for failing to call for a federal prosecution, something President George Bush did in the Rodney King case.

“Clinton’s style is a lot more liberal and progressive than his public policy … He thinks he can substitute a saxophone and an appearance on Arsenio Hall for genuine change,” he said, referring to the former talk show host.

Sharpton then discussed possible solutions to the problem. While careful to mention that marches and rallies were not enough, he claimed that such events were a way to focus attention on issues. As a genuine solution, he suggested residency requirements for police officers, in which they would have to live in the communities they serve. Residency, Sharpton explained, was the only way to effectively dispel the “us against them” mentality he feels permeates urban areas. He also discussed the need for community accountability, which could be best achieved through an elected community police board.

Sharpton became somewhat defensive, attacking those who would question his tactics.

“If you are more caught up with my reaction than the problem I am addressing, the problem isn’t me, it is yourself,” he said.

Drawing a parallel between civil strife during the civil rights movements of the past and of today, Sharpton termed police brutality “legal lynching.”

“It is frightening to live in a community where you have to run from the cops and the robbers,” he said.

He ended the speech with words of warning for those who can see the problem but do not act for change. He criticized the lack of student activism and moral courage.

“This generation will be judged by how it deals with the social maladies of its time,” he said. “You have much, and you do little.”

Nationally known for his controversial, outspoken reactions to racial conflict and his several unsuccessful bids for New York City’s mayoral seat, Sharpton drew a considerable crowd at the Law Center.