Rev. Al Sharptons father dead at 93: Our relationship was complicated

The father of Rev.Al Sharpton has died, the MSNBC host announced Saturday.

He was 93.“I’m deeply saddened to announce the passing of my father, Al Sharpton, Sr.Our relationship was complicated, but he was still my father,” the civil rights activist, 69, said in a statement.“Over the past 18 years, I was able to work through my pain and feelings of abandonment, and we built a relationship that meant a lot to me.

The senior Sharpton died in Orlando, Florida on Friday, he said.Sharpton urged his followers to use his father’s passing as an opportunity to reconcile damaged relationships with loved ones and family.“Born and raised in Jim Crow Florida, he later came to New York City and became a successful entrepreneur.Though his weaknesses may have cost him, he instilled in my sister and me (and later our other siblings) a mentality of independence and self-pride.

I’ve learned from my own mistakes and from his.May my Daddy rest in peace,” he said.Sharpton has often talked about his tumultuous relationship with his father throughout his decades-long career, and often referenced his father’s indiscretions as the trigger that changed his path in life.The elder Sharpton left his young family in 1963 — when Sharpton was just 10 — to start a relationship and a new family with Sharpton’s 18-year-old half-sister.At the time, the father owned various residential buildings in Brooklyn.“I wake up one morning, he’s gone. And not only is he gone, my oldest sister from my mother’s first marriage,” Sharpton told Madam Enore in 2013.“Left with him and they had a child. And then they came and took my sister to live with them.”The betrayal inspired him to find solace in the church, and ignited frustrations that he channeled through civil rights protesting.Sharpton turned to Godfather of Soul James Brown as a father figure, without his biological father in his life.

The pair remained estranged until 2006.Even after the reconnection, Sharpton conti...