Sharpton Rally Criticizes State Senate Majority Coalition

The Rev. Al Sharpton and a crew of civil rights leaders and black lawmakers this weekend denounced a move by State Senate Republicans and a few breakaway Democrats to form a – mostly white – majority coalition, according to the New York Times.

Sharpton, at a Harlem rally on Saturday, vowed to pressure the breakaway Democrats to reconsider their decision before the next legislative session begins in January.

The problem Sharpton sees with the coalition? All but one of the members of the proposed majority coalition are white, while the Senate Democratic caucus includes 14 black and Hispanic members and is led by an African-American.

“The election spoke to the will of the people,” Sharpton said, according to the Times. “And there cannot be a back-room deal that undermines what people voted for.”

One Democrat so far has said he would vote with Republicans, while five others are a part of the Independent Democratic Conference, which mostly aligns with Republican interests.

John Sampson, Senate Democratic leader, expressed hope that the Democrats could be reunited in the Senate before January.