History of the National Action Network
Founded in 1991
Founded in New York City in 1991, National Action Network, Inc. (“NAN”) has been on the front lines of creating social change and last year celebrated its silver anniversary, representing a quarter century of an organization that gives voice to the voiceless and acts as a champion for the dispossessed.
Birthed out of the movement lead by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., NAN has continued to give life to the Dream that Dr. King had that America would live up to its promise of equality under the law and equal opportunity for all its citizens. Under the audacious leadership of founder and President, Reverend Al Sharpton, and with the guidance of Board Chairman Reverend Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson (Senior Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Mount Vernon, New York), NAN has steadfastly remained committed to the principles of non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to engage and confront the social vices of police misconduct and abuse, gun violence, official assaults on voting rights, workers’ rights, affirmative action, inequities in education and employment opportunities, access to capital, health care and discrimination motivated by race, class, gender, sexual orientation or status, religion and national origin.
Nationally Recognized for Criminal Justice
NAN has been nationally recognized as the go-to organization for families facing tragedies like police brutality, gang violence, gun violence, and loss of homes or businesses due to predatory lending. NAN has advocated for those who have been locked out of schools or quality educational institutions because of the color of their skin, as well as those who have been denied the right to vote, drive, or walk while being black. The families of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo, among others, have all turned to National Action Network and Rev. Sharpton to ensure that authorities understand that Black Lives Matter, and that policing—and the criminal justice system—are broken and need fixing.
NAN’s efforts in giving voice and answering the calls for justice in these situations has led to a transformation of policing and criminal justice in recent years. The U.S. Department of Justice has entered consent decrees in cities across the nation—from Newark to Baltimore to Cincinnati and Cleveland to Ferguson to New Orleans to Los Angeles and Oakland—all due to those jurisdictions having allowed unconstitutional pattern and practice violations in policing and criminal justice. In New York City, NAN stood at the forefront of leading a silent march down 5th Avenue to call for an end to NYC’s stop and frisk practices, which a federal court ultimately deemed was happening in an unconstitutional manner.
Economic Opportunity & Legislative Change
Over the years, NAN has developed its economic opportunity and diversity work by ensuring that major corporations maintain good citizenship and corporate responsibility. NAN has helped opened doors for minority- and women-owned businesses for inclusion in media and advertising, money management, entertainment and educational opportunities. NAN, along with other civil rights organizations, has developed Memorandums of Understanding with major corporations for improvements in diversity and inclusion in corporate governance, employment, workforce recruitment and retention, procurement, programing, philanthropy and community investments. Through a boycott of last year’s Oscars, NAN forced Hollywood to deal with diversity on the silver screen, and the most recent Oscars saw a substantial presence of diverse actors, directors, and others in the film industry being honored or nominated.
NAN has fought for policy and legislative change in situations where the government has failed to serve the best interest of its citizens. Some situations in which NAN intervened occurred in Flint, Michigan, where government neglect resulted in poisoned drinking water and in Vieques, Puerto Rico, an island polluted because the U.S. Navy used the land for bombing exercises. NAN stood up with hundreds of people on the streets, in the airports and in the halls of Congress to demand fair and just treatment of immigrants, both those within our borders and those trying to reach our borders in search of a better life for themselves and their families.
Civil & Human Rights
In January 2017, on the weekend preceding the MLK Holiday and the nation’s inauguration of its 45th president, NAN marched with thousands in the cold, rainy Washington, DC streets to tell the new Trump Administration that we would not be moved on issues of civil and human rights and would stand our ground for the protection of our civil liberties.
NAN has been vigilant in demanding change and respect for our nation’s constitution. With the transition from President Barack Obama—with whom NAN and Rev. Sharpton developed an historic relationship—to the following administration and the uncertainties it brings to America, NAN remains fully engaged in protecting those hard fought and blood-soaked victories for civil rights and civil liberties.
Most important to NAN is remaining connected to its roots. NAN continues its weekly Saturday rallies and broadcast at NAN’s House of Justice. The organization holds a free Legal Night clinic once a month at its headquarters in central Harlem. At the forefront of NAN’s more than 110 active chapters across the country, Reverend Sharpton has remained accessible to the community over these past 26 years. NAN maintains offices in New York City, Washington DC., Atlanta, Ga., Miami, Fl., Chattanooga, TN and Los Angeles, Ca. Rev. Sharpton’s voice continues to be heard nationally everyday on his syndicated radio shows and “Politics Nation” every Sunday on MSNBC. NAN maintains a significant youth division and invests in the development of the next generation of leaders. “No Justice! No Peace!” still resonates as a vital call for justice around the world.