A lot of normally smart and generally sincere people have just made the dreadful blunder of affiliating themselves with Al Sharpton, one of America’s more unlovable figures, whose fingerprints can be found on an appalling list of divisive, racist, anti-Semitic, violent, and often bloody episodes over the past quarter century. (For starters, see here and here.) This man doesn’t deserve to be dignified with the label “civil rights leader” and we find ourselves wondering what the likes of Joel Klein, Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Kati Haycock, Joe Williams, and Andy Rotherham think they’re doing. (For a full list of this dubious new coalition’s members, see here.) Though many of the group’s principles are sound (see here), if one is known by the company one keeps, a lot of people with solid reform reputations have just blemished them by association with Sharpton.

Update: Yet more evidence that Sharpton is greedy and opportunistic.

For months we’ve observed John McCain’s general lack of interest in education. That appears to be starting to change. First there was his big education speech at his high school alma matter. And now, CBS News correspondent Andante Higgins reports that McCain’s recent trip to Memphis has stirred a new passion in him for K-12 school reform. A few days later, he told reporters joining him on his campaign plane: 

One thing that’s brought home to you when you visit Memphis and talk with much of the leadership in the African-American community, their number one issue probably is education—the disparity between the inner cities and America and the suburbs. I think we need a much larger nation [sic] discussion and debate on that issue. Not just re-authorization of No Child Left Behind. We’re going to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, but we better start looking at the disparity really between different school systems in America.

Sounds like a mix between George W. Bush and John Edwards. For those of us claiming that McCain doesn’t care about education, it sounds like we’re going to need to start singing a different tune.

This moving Washington Post op-ed is by the father of Amy Wilkins (Education Trust’s V.P.) and helps to explain Amy’s (and Ed Trust’s) bona fides in the civil rights community.