Last week was marked by two interesting events in Black politics. The first was the public spat among Black Democrats over Reverend Al Sharpton's proposed presidential run.

Usually, when we -- as African Americans -- talk about the need for leadership -- we are talking about leadership in the fight against racism. We deal with racial profiling -- at the street level and the corporate level; we mount defenses of affirmative action

A fundamental restructuring was affected in the early 20th century, which further entrenched the power of the major parties as they became increasingly corporate and centralized in both their structure and character.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. There, on national TV, was the Reverend Al Sharpton announcing that he is a centrist. Referring to the Democratic Party, Sharpton told Tim Russert on...