title: BOOM! LEADERS Of 34,000 Black Churches Tell Members To Turn Backs On Race-Baiter-For-Hire Al Sharpton’s D.C. March Against Trump
text: Skip Al Sharpton s March on Washington on Saturday, the president of the National Black Church Initiative told members of the network s 34,000 churches Friday afternoon.NBCI s statement, released a day before Sharpton s march, slammed the Rev. for squandering his  carte blanche access  to the Obama White House, claiming that he  blew an opportunity to secure critical issues that affect the African American community.  Instead of pursuing meaningful changes,  Al Sharpton and his liberal friends took the time to get rich,  the news release says.On Saturday morning, NBCI s president, Rev. Anthony Evans, explained his opposition to Sharpton s march in an interview with Heat Street. They re asking our churches to march when they ve had all the power for the past eight years? We re not doing that. That s poppycock.   We re holding Sharpton accountable. We re not participating in Sharpton s speech. We have created our own agenda,  Evans said.In the past, NBCI has said that the Democratic Party has not met the needs of its black constituents, slamming both Sharpton and the National Black Caucus. It has also been highly critical Donald Trump, whom NBCI has called  the biggest racist since Bull Connor. Sources interviewed by Heat Street varied in their assessment of NBCI s political influence. Evans said the group s 34,000 affiliate churches together have 15.7 million members, spanning 15 denominations.NBCI s takedown of Sharpton comes as he has struggled to draw a crowd to his March on Washington on Saturday.A source at Sharpton s march estimated that 2,000, at most, were there as of noon, adding that the drizzly, chilly weather may be suppressing turnout. Another source put that number below 1,000. CPSAN is live-streaming the event, and its footage shows a sparse-looking crowd.Speaking at the March, Sharpton tried to ward off criticism about the low turnout.  They re going to lie tomorrow and say wasn t but 200 of us, but look at this crowd in the rain,  Sharpton said at around 12:17 p.m., addressing attendees.For entire story: Heat Street