The Numinous Negro

EARLIER this year, A1 Sharpton led an abortive putsch against Jesse Jackson, though its significance was greater than he, or Jackson, suspected, for it involved someone more important than either man. Both Sharpton and Jackson know this person well. So do you; so does everybody. He is the Numinous Negro.

Jackson had been embarrassed by the disclosure of his mistress and their illegitimate child. Suddenly, the Reverend stood revealed as a hypocrite, and his political effectiveness was hampered.

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Al Sharpton

Martin Luther King Jr

EARLIER this year, A1 Sharpton led an abortive putsch against Jesse Jackson, though its significance was greater than he, or Jackson, suspected, for it involved someone more important than either man. Both Sharpton and Jackson know this person well. So do you; so does everybody. He is the Numinous Negro.

Jackson had been embarrassed by the disclosure of his mistress and their illegitimate child. Suddenly, the Reverend stood revealed as a hypocrite, and his political effectiveness was hampered.