Rev. Al Sharpton has been a dynamic and controversial civil rights figure for many years. He founded the National Youth Movement in 1971, the National Action Network in 1991,and he was also a member of Operation BreadBasket in 1969 . The National Action Network is a civil rights organiztion whose mission is to be the voice of empowerment for the disenfranchised throughout America.

He has ran for office as a Democrat many times and has attempted to bring the plight of the poor to mainstream America. His most recent attempt for office was his bid was for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States in 2004. In the debates against the other Democratic nominees, he more than held his on making the other candidates take the issues of jobs in the inner city, the education gap, and President Bush's inadequacies as a President. He has also ran for Mayor of New York City in 1997 gaining 32% of the vote, in 1994 he ran for the US Senate against Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan, and again in 1992 finishing third.

Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jesse Jackson graduated from the public schools in Greenville, then enrolled in the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He later transferred to North Carolina A&T State University, and graduated in 1964.Reverend Jesse Jackson began his activism as a student in the summer of 1960 seeking to desegregate the local public library in Greenville, and then as a leader in the sit-in movement. In 1965 he became a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was soon appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to direct SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket program.

In December of 1971, Reverend Jackson founded Operation in Chicago, IL. The goals of Operation PUSH were economic empowerment and expanding educational, business and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and people of color. In 1984, Reverend Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a national social justice organization, based in Washington, D.C, devoted to political empowerment, education and changing public policy. In September of 1996, the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH merged in the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to continue the work of both approaches and to maximize resources.

He has ran for President twice and received many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NAACP Spingarn Award. He has been intsrumental in the release of many US captives in different countries. He was appointed the Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa in 1997 be President Clinton. He has authored two books, Keep Hope Alive and Straight from the Heart, and he has also co-authored two books, one with his son Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr.

Kweisi Mfume, which means "Conquering son of Kings" in West African language, was born in Baltimore,Ma. where he became an activist and political leader. Kweisi attended Morgan State University where he was President of the Black Student Union and eidtor of the school's newspaper. He graduated magna cum laude and later came back as an adjunct professor teaching classes in political science and communications. In 1984, he earned his Masters degree in liberal arts with a concentration in International Studies from John Hopkins University.

In 1979 in his first run for political office, he won a seat on the Baltimore City Council by only three votes. He reamianed there for seven years diversifying city government and increasing minority involvement. In 1986, he was has elected to Congress and held the seat for 10 years. While he was in Congress, he served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee, and held the ranking seat on the General Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, served as a member of the Committee on Education, and as a senior member of the Small Business Committee.While in his third term, the Speaker of the House chose him to serve on the Ethics Committee and the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate, where he later became chair.

As a member of the House of Representatives, Congressman Mfume consistently advocated landmark minority business and civil rights legislation. He successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. He authorized the minority contracting and employment amendments to the Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act. He strengthened the Equal Credit Opportunity Law, and amended the Community Reinvestment Act in the interest of minority financial institutions. He co-authored and successfully amended the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 to apply the act to U.S. citizens working for American-based companies abroad. He also sponsored legislative initiatives banning assault weapons and establishing stalking as a federal crime.

Kweisi Mfume became President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on February 20, 1996, after being unanimously elected to the post by the NAACP's Board of Directors. Mr. Mfume gave up his seat in the United States Congress where he had, for ten years, represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District, to assume the NAACP presidency.