Former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton speaking today

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, will speak at Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. today, March 2, in Burruss Auditorium.

Sharpton, a vibrant figure in the minority community, has been an outspoken political activist for nearly two decades. Now a national political figure, the New York Native, was ordained as a minister when he was 10. Politically active from a very young age, he worked for Operation Breadbasket as a teen-ager and organized protests against companies inequitable to African Americans. He is the founder and director of the National Action Network and was recently a guest host on Saturday Night Live. Sharpton has authored an autobiography, Go and Tell Pharaoh, and a policy book entitled Al on America.

Sharpton's visit is sponsored by Virginia Tech's Black Student Alliance and the Virginia Tech Union. Tickets are free and available at the UUSA ticket office (limit four tickets per person).

For more information, please contact Rebekah Clark at reclark1@vt.edu or (540) 231-6143.