Rev. Al Sharpton Organizes Boycott of âStop & Bisqueâ CafÃ©
Activist/opinion show host Rev. Al Sharpton plans a protest march in front ofÂ what he believesÂ is anÂ offensively-named Upper East Side cafÃ©,Â Stop &Â Bisque. Sharpton feels the name is a deliberate play on words of the NYPDâs controversial practice of âStop and Frisk.â âItâs outrageous!â boomed âRev. Al.â Â âIâve marched againstÂ this before, and Iâll march against it again!â The NYPDâs controversial âstop-and-friskâ policy legally allows police officers the freedom to âstop, question and friskâ anyone who they suspectÂ may be in possession of illegal contraband or firearms. Â Critics, including Sharpton, have pointed to the disproportionately high number of African-Americans and Hispanics who are targeted. The 59-year-old minister, activist, and organizer spoke from the set of his MSNBC newsÂ and opinion show, Politics Nation. âIs this somebodyâs idea of a joke?â asked Sharpton. Â âRacial profiling is no joke,â he said. âIn this climate of tension we have here and all across the country, young African American men are targets. Â Theyâre stopped on the street for no reason at all, solely based on the color of their skin. Â Itâs insulting and itâs degrading,â addedÂ Sharpton. CafÃ© owner Martin Samuel was caught by surprise when he learned of the protest. âI heard aboutÂ this on the news,â said Samuel. Â âThereâs nothing racial about it. Â You have Stop & Shop [supermarkets] all over the place. Â Is SharptonÂ against them, too? Â All I want is for people to literally stop, come in, and have some soup! Â Iâm not even open yet!â he added. For years, âstop-and-friskâ has provokedÂ sharpÂ debate. Â FormerÂ New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was a staunch proponentÂ of the plan, while current Mayor Bill de Blasio usedÂ the divisive lawÂ as a majorÂ topic duringÂ theÂ 2013 mayoral campaign. Â Last June, the Mayor announced a settlement agreement with civil rights lawyers whoÂ agreed to court-ordered policy reforms. âUnless they change the name of the cafÃ© â bistro â whatever it is,â said Sharpton, âweâre going aheadÂ with our protest.â TheÂ demonstrationÂ is scheduled to begin this weekend. Samuel has no plans to change the name of his restaurant.