A coalition of Black churches is calling on MSNBC to suspend and investigate Rev. Al Sharpton after his nonprofit, National Action Network, accepted $500,000 in donations from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. The National Black Church Initiative, which represents 150,000 churches and 27.7 million members across the country, is “very concerned that one of our leaders appears to be selling our votes to Kamala Harris’ campaign.”
The coalition is urging MSNBC to investigate the Harris campaign’s payment to Sharpton’s nonprofit and is calling for Sharpton’s suspension until the investigation is complete. The group argues that the payment raises moral and journalism ethics concerns and puts a “moral stain on the integrity of the Black Church.”
MSNBC previously stated that it was “unaware” of the donations made to Sharpton’s nonprofit, but did not say whether the host had been punished. The network has suspended other hosts in the past over political donations.
The Society of Professional Journalists also criticized Sharpton and MSNBC over the apparent conflict of interest, stating that it “builds distrust among their audiences and places a black eye on both their network and the profession.” The group argued that the entanglement harms the credibility of the journalist, the news organization, and journalism overall.
Sharpton has not addressed the matter, and a spokesperson for MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Harris campaign made two donations totaling $500,000 to Sharpton’s nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview with the MSNBC host.