The father of Rev. Al Sharpton has died at the age of 93.
The civil rights activist, 69, released a statement on X announcing his father’s death.
“I’m deeply saddened to announce the passing of my father, Al Sharpton, Sr. Our relationship was complicated, but he was still my father,”he said. “Over the past 18 years, I was able to work through my pain and feelings of abandonment, and we built a relationship that meant a lot to me.”
The elder Sharpton died in Orlando, Florida on Friday. According to his son, Sharpton Sr. was born and raised in “Jim Crow Florida” before moving to New York City and becoming a “successful entrepreneur.”
Sharpton has spoken in the past about his complicated relationship with his father, who walked out on the family in 1963 when the younger Sharpton was just 10 years old, and started a relationship and a new family with Sharpton’s 18-year-old half-sister.
“I wake up one morning, he’s gone. And not only is he gone, my oldest sister from my mother’s first marriage,” Sharpton told Madame Noire in 2013. “Left with him and they had a child. And then they came and took my sister to live with them.”
The father and son were estranged until 2006.
In June, Sharpton posted a Father’s Day message for his “natural father,” saying, “Though he left when I was 10 years old, we reconciled many years later. I’ve learned from his wisdom and tenacity.”
The civil rights leader encouraged his followers to use his father’s death as a chance to reconcile with estranged loved ones.
“I’ve learned from my own mistakes and from his. May my Daddy rest in peace,” he wrote.
